The Gambia Press Union (GPU) has sharply condemned what it describes as an alarming attempt by senior officials of the Media Council of The Gambia (MCG) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to pressure a journalist into issuing a public statement exonerating former Justice Minister Abubacarr Marie “Ba” Tambadou.
In a strongly worded statement released Thursday, the GPU accused Bai Emil Touray, Executive Secretary of the MCG, and Emmanuel Daniel Joof, Chairperson of the NHRC, of seeking to influence the editorial independence of The Republic, an investigative news outlet. The issue stems from an article published by The Republic on April 30, 2025, titled “The Assets of Gambia’s Former Dictator Go for a Song”, which raised serious concerns about transparency, corruption, and potential conflict of interest in the sale of ex-president Yahya Jammeh’s seized assets.
According to the GPU, The Republic’s Editor-in-Chief, Mustapha K. Darboe, was summoned to a surprise meeting on May 6 at the NHRC office in Kotu. There, Touray, Joof, and MCG Governing Council Chairperson Baboucarr Cham reportedly demanded that Darboe issue a joint statement with Tambadou declaring that the story did not imply any wrongdoing on the part of the former minister, and that it had been misunderstood by the public.
The GPU decried the meeting as a thinly veiled attempt to rehabilitate Tambadou’s public image, particularly as he is a current nominee for a judgeship at the International Court of Justice.
“What the MCG and NHRC leaders did amounts to intimidation of a journalist and is highly unacceptable,” said GPU Secretary General Modou S. Joof. “To insinuate that Mustapha may have been paid to do the story is preposterous and a serious affront to press freedom.”
Joof also stated that no formal ethical complaint had been lodged with the MCG’s Ethics Panel regarding the story, making the intervention even more problematic.
GPU President Isatou Keita echoed these sentiments, calling the demand for a joint statement “a dangerous precedent” and a “serious breach of journalistic ethics.”
“The suggestion to do a joint statement with a subject of an investigative report to tweak the facts of the story in his favour… would amount to a breach of journalism ethics, dent the reputation of The Republic and erode public trust in them,” Keita said.
In response, the GPU Board has recommended the immediate dismissal of Bai Emil Touray as Executive Secretary of the MCG, citing a loss of confidence in his leadership and deviation from the Council’s founding values.
The GPU also called on the NHRC and MCG leadership to cease any further acts of intimidation against The Republic and its staff, urging all parties with grievances to follow established complaint procedures through the Media Council’s Ethics Panel.
This incident marks a significant moment in Gambia’s ongoing struggle to uphold media independence and accountability in a post-dictatorship era. Observers now wait to see whether the MCG Governing Council will act on the GPU’s recommendation and how the NHRC will respond to the growing criticism.
