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| Slain journalist leader - Deyda Hydara |
anniversary of his
newspaper, December 16, 2004.
His murder plunge Gambia's media fraternity into a
mood of despondency that it is yet to recover from. Since then, the media in
the country has been commemorating the event with public lectures, addressing
pertinent issues that affect journalism, journalists and development in
general.
The Gambia Government has repeatedly denied having a hand
in Deyda's death.
An erstwhile Gambia Press Union (GPU) President, Deyda
has been a well-known critic of government policies and programmes and fought
for the improvement of the ever growing poor populations in the country. His
criticisms have been published in his newspaper's editorials and two columns
"Good Morning Mr. President" and "The Bite".
In a recent BBC interview,
Gambia's
President Yahya AJJ Jammeh denied that the government's security agents had
killed him. "Listen to me: Is he the only Gambian who died? Is he better
than Gambians who die in accidents, Gambians who die at sea, Gambians who die
on their way to Europe?" Mr Jammeh asked.
"Despite repeated calls for the State to investigate
the murder and punish the culprits, no discernible step has been taken so far.
The first report on the murder conducted by the National Intelligence Agency
(NIA) in 2005 openly blamed the decease for his own death," the Gambia
Press Union (GPU) laments. "It came up with all sorts of hypotheses without
pushing the clues. And since then, there has been no further action on the
matter".
In 2009, the
Publisher and Proprietor of The Daily News newspaper and former GPU President,
Madi M.K. Ceesay said of the stalled investigations “the earlier the better for
us all, it is not in the interest of Gambian journalists neither in the
interest of the government, it is in the interest of us all.”
"It is five years since he was murdered, why did it
take this long to apprehend the perpetrators”, he asked”.
In the quest to seek justice for the slain journalist
and promote press freedom in the country, the GPU in cooperation with the
International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and the Association of Non
Governmental Organisation (TANGO) is organising a public lecture on the theme
"Role of the Media in Creating an Open Society" to commemorate
the murder of Deyda Hydara.
The lecture is slated for Saturday 17th December 2011
at the TANGO Conference Hall in Kanifing at 1530GMT.
Brief Biography
Deyda Hydara (June 9, 1946 – December 16, 2004) was a
co-founder and primary editor of The
Point, a major independent Gambian newspaper. He was
also a correspondent for both AFP
News Agency and Reporters
Without Borders for more than 30 years. Deyda also worked as a Radio
presenter in The Gambia called radio Syd during his early years as
a freelance journalist.
Hydara was an advocate of press freedom and a fierce
critic of the government of President Yahya Jammeh, who has been
regarded “openly hostile” to Gambian journalists and the media.
On December 16, 2004, Hydara was killed in his car by
unidentified gunmen; two of his colleagues were also injured. As of December
2011, his murder remains unsolved.
In 2005, Hydara was posthumously honoured with a PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. He
is also listed and honoured by the African Editors Forum (TAEF) in October 2010
among "Heroes of African Journalism”.
Deyda Hydara is survived by his wife and his five children.
Author: Modou S. Joof
The author is a Gambian journalist,
News Editor of The Voice Newspaper in Banjul and Publisher of The North Bank Evening Standard.
Follow me on twitter: (@Msjoof)
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/modou-s-joof/24/638/932 and
his
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