Senior Sport Journalist charged to court

Bakary B. Baldeh, a senior sports journalist and producer for West Coast Radio (WCR) in Banjul has been charged to court in a civil suit brought against him by the President of The Gambia Golf Association, Ebrima Jawara.

Baldeh faces two counts of Conspiracy to Commit Felony and Incite Violence, he has since denied any wrong doing, and he is being tried at the Kanifing Magistrate Court, the Daily Observer reported.

Jawara, a son of the former Gambian president filed the suit over a sports show he suggested made malicious comments about his personality in which Baldeh hosted “two aggrieved golf caddies who used the show to criticise the Gambia golf chief for what the caddies described as an unfair treatment towards them during the Mariam Jammeh Golf tournament hosted at the Fajara Golf Club”.

Prior to the suit, Mr. Jawara said in a letter addressed to the Chief Executive Officer of WCR, Peter Gomez that: “I understand that there was an interview aired over WCR sometime on Friday 11 February 2011, where the person of the GGA President and the Gambia Golf Association were attacked by one Edrissa Jammeh, a Fajara Club Caddy.”

“It is rather unfortunate that a few ignorant, misguide youths will use the West Coast Radio as a platform to tarnish the image of GGA and make personal attacks against its president,” he said in an email to The Voice Newspaper.   

“I hope you will find time to clear the air. There are different factions who have a vested interest in seeing that the Baby Mariam Jammeh Tournament fails, so that gains GGA has made since its inception will be for naught overnight.”

Meanwhile, the case has been adjourned till Thursday March 31, 2011.