By: Haddy Touray
The Secretary-General of the oppositionPeople’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS), Hon. Halifa Sallah, has called on the Gambia government to exercise tolerance in the matter of two Voice newspaper journalists, who weredragged to court on Tuesday, by the government.
The Voice newspaper published an article on 23 September 2024, about President Adama Barrow’s reported exit strategy and choice of successful businessman Muhammed Jah as his replacement on the marble boxes come the 2026 presidential election.
The author of the article MomodouJustice Darboe was arrested and detained for two nights while The Voice’s Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief, Musa Sheriff, was held for several hours. They were subsequently charged with false publication and broadcasting. The duo was arraigned before the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference organized by the PDOIS at its Churchill’s Town office on Wednesday,Hon. Sallah observed that the privatemedia played a tremendous role in enabling the messages of the Coalition 2016 to reach out to the people across the world, arguing that there should not be any fight as far as the publication is concerned as it was already refuted by officials of National People’s Party (NPP).
“This is a government that benefitted from the media, especially the media outside the portfolio of the state really made known what we tell the whole world. In that line, there should be tremendous tolerance and as rightly said, in cases where people write certain things, the question is: Are the people au fait with what they have written, do they believe it, has it harmed anyone and that’s where things like apology and things of that nature can come up,” stated Sallah. He added: “If something is written and is refuted and the journalist wrote what has been refuted, what is there to fight again? What would you want for that matter to go to the court? What do you what to achieve? That is the question. If we were the ones running the State, clearly all those things called false news will not be criminalized.”
He emphasized that PDOIS Government will not prosecute journalists for publishing false news as it serves no purpose, especially if you have the means to refuting such publications, noting that if theGovernment had a second thought, this matter will be addressed before it gets far on the prosecution of the journalists.
He also urged journalists to be more professional in their work at all times, hinting that the credibility of the journalists is not to be afraid of the State but rather to adhere to the good virtues of journalism by publishing the truth and the fact and in good faith.
