By Haddy Touray
The Gambia Press Union (GPU) has honoured five individuals for their efforts in promoting and defending press freedom and freedom of expression, as well as for their selfless service in support of the media and media development in The Gambia.
Among the honorees is the late Pa Modou Faal.
AGNES JOHN -THOMASI
For more than three decades, Agnes John – Thomasi has been a quiet but formidable force in journalism. Soft-spoken yet unwaveringly principled, she has built a reputation not only for her editorial leadership but for something exceptional in the African fiercely competitive media landscape; an instinct for spotting talent early and an unshakeable commitment to nurturing it.
Now the head of Dakar-based West Africa Democracy Radio (WADR), Agnes Thomasi is recognised as one of the most consistent champions of young African journalists, particularly young women seeking to enter a field that can often be unforgiving. Her story, according to her colleagues, is as much about personal resilience as it is about service to the next generation.
Like most Gambian young journalists at the time, John – Thomasi began her career as a fresh-faced reporter at Radio Gambia, joining the state broadcaster straight out of high school, in the early 1990s, a period of political turbulence and limited press freedom.
Yet even in her earliest years, she stood out for her composure, her clarity of thought and her instinctive understanding of how to tell stories that mattered.
Over time, Agnes moved through the ranks, becoming one of the most respected voices in Gambian radio. Still at a young age, she earned a scholarship to Nairobi, Kenya for a media production course, and due to her performance, she was given another scholarship to proceed to the International Institute of Journalism in Berlin (IIJB) and later to the citadel of Radio, Deutsche Welle (DW) in Bonn, Germany.
With her journalism skills, a stint as a Communications Officer and Consultant, broadened her horizon further. But it was her transition into regional broadcasting that widened her influence. At WADR, a transnational station dedicated to democracy, governance and human rights, Agnes found a platform not just to oversee programming, but to shape the very culture of West African journalism.
“She has this rare ability to see what someone can become long before they see it themselves,” says Sheriff Bojang Jnr, a Gambian journalist who worked under her at WADR. “She can also be a beautiful dictator in the newsroom,” Sheriff adds.
Through training, coaching and constant engagement with emerging reporters across West Africa, she has helped cultivate a new wave of storytellers who approach their work with integrity, curiosity and courage.
Under her guidance, dozens of young reporters from The Gambia, Senegal, Ghana, Togo, Sierra Leone and Nigeria have moved into leadership roles in their own organisations. Many credit her for giving them their first real sense of confidence.
Part of what makes Thomasi’s work so significant is her commitment to opening doors for women in media. In a sector where women often struggle for visibility, and endure discrimination, she insists on bringing them to the centre, pushing for their recruitment, advocating for their promotion and confronting the subtle biases that shape newsroom cultures. She has become a model of what leadership can look like for young women who rarely see themselves reflected in senior roles.
She tells younger colleagues that journalism is a service, a responsibility to the public, not a route to personal elevation. It is this ethos, more than anything that defines her legacy.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome on stage, GPU’S 2025 PPRESS FREEDOM HERO, Agnes John Thomasi.
Musa S. Sheriff, a Gambian Journalist and Press Freedom Advocate.
Musa S. Sheriff’s journey as a campaigner for press freedom began in 2007 when he was elected Coordinator of the Network of Human Rights Journalists (NHRJ). In this role, he organized NHRJ’s first major public awareness event on the disappearance of journalist Chief Ebrima Manneh.
At a time when few dared to speak openly about the case, Sheriff brought together media leaders, politicians, journalists, and members of Manneh’s family to call for his release.
Sheriff co-founded The Inquirer newspaper in late 1999. Despite significant challenges, including the absence of advertising revenue, the paper was published twice weekly.
In 2001, after the resignation of the Daily Observer’s editorial staff, he was contacted by Ebrima Sillah (now Minister of Works). Sillah told him that the staff who had resigned from the Daily Observer would be joining him.
The following day, Sheriff was detained by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and ordered to halt publication without explanation. The newspaper’s documents were returned to him in late 2002, and publication resumed in 2003.
However, after running the headline “Gambia cannot maintain two State Houses, one in Kanilai and one in Banjul,” he was again summoned by the NIA and instructed to stop publishing. He complied and subsequently worked as a freelance reporter for the Gambia News and Report Magazine, which was published by the late Doyen Suwaibu Conateh.
In April 2006, Sheriff was arrested, detained, tortured, and later released without charges.
In August 2008, he rebranded The Inquirer as The Voice newspaper.
On January 13, 2014, Sheriff was arrested in front of his children in his office alongside freelance journalist Sainey Marenah and charged with false publication for reporting that 19 “Green Youths” defected from the ruling APRC to the opposition UDP. “We were charged with “conspiracy to commit a felony” and “publication of false news with intent to cause fear and alarm to the public,” he recalled. After a 10-month trial, we were acquitted by a Banjul court.
On July 1, 2015 Sheriff and four senior reporters of The Voice, namely, News Editor and Newsroom coordinator, Sulayman Ceesay, Assistant News Editor, Bakary Ceesay, Senior Reporters, Amadou Bah, and Mafugi Ceesay were summoned and interrogated by the NIA about the paper’s operations.
In late September 2024, Sheriff and his deputy, Momodou Justice Darboe, were arrested, detained, and charged by the Gambia Police Force with “false publication and broadcasting.” The Inspector General of Police later withdrew the case. President Adama Barrow also initiated a civil suit against Sheriff and The Voice, which was subsequently dropped.
Musa sheriff has mentored many young journalists in The Gambia, including the current Secretary General of the GPU, who worked under him for 8 years as an editor; and the likes of Meita Touray, who is now a trainer at the Media Academy for Journalism and Communication.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome on stage, GPU’S 2025 PPRESS FREEDOM HERO, Musa Sheriff.
Hon. Justice Ebrima Jaiteh
The Gambia Press Union hereby presents the Press Freedom Hero Award for 2025 to Honourable Justice Ebrima Jaiteh in recognition of his exceptional and principled service to the nation, his unwavering commitment to justice, and his steadfast defence of transparency, accountability, and the rule of law in The Gambia.
Justice Jaiteh has demonstrated exemplary judicial leadership, consistently upholding his solemn oath to dispense justice without fear or favour, affection or ill will. Through his judgments, conduct, and public service, he has strengthened public confidence in the Judiciary and contributed significantly to advancing the cause of justice in our democratic society.
This award further honours Justice Jaiteh’s profound appreciation of the media as a vital partner in the administration of justice. He has consistently affirmed that a free, vibrant, and responsible press is indispensable to ensuring transparency in judicial processes, enhancing public understanding of the law, and promoting accountability in all spheres of governance.
His principled stance, courage, and integrity embody the highest ideals of judicial office and reflect values that resonate deeply with the mission and vision of the Gambia Press Union.
In presenting this award, the Gambia Press Union recognises Justice Ebrima Jaiteh as a champion of justice, promoter of access to information, a defender of press freedom, and a distinguished servant of the Gambian people.
Hon. Justice Jaiteh is proactive in promoting access to information to journalists covering cases before the courts. He often ask his staff to give maximum support to journalists when they need information about cases he presides upon.
Known to be the first high court judge to allow live video coverage in the case The State Vs. Yankuba Touray, Justice Jaiteh is seen as a role model bench-bar-press relation, according to Court Reporters.
“What is fascinating about Justice Jaiteh’s court is that he ensures that we get everything we need to make our work easy,” says Journalist Yankuba Jallow of Foroyaa.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome on stage, Alieu Kaba Jawara, who would be receiving THE GPU’S 2025 PPRESS FREEDOM HERO AWARD on behalf Justice Jaiteh.
Late Pa Modou Faal
This is a posthumous award to Pa Modou Faal (Kotoo, as he was fondly called), served in various boards of the GPU from 2008.
He was a Treasurer of the GPU from 2011 to 2015.
In 2018, he was made the chairperson of GPU Board Programmes Committee.
He was humble, soft-spoken, and an overall, a wonderful human being who stood for, promoted and defended press freedom and freedom of expression in The Gambia during the most difficult period in history of journalism in the country.
He, together with five other journalists, were arrested, tried and sentenced to two years in prison for sedition in 2009 over a GPU statement on the killing of journalist Deyda Hydara.
Pa Modou had over 20 years of experience working for several media outlets including the defunct Independent, and Daily Observer newspapers.
He also worked for The Point Newspaper and had served as founder member and former President of the Association of Health Journalists of The Gambia (AOHJ) and the African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN Gambia Chapter).
He has also worked as an Information Officer with the Ministry of Health and was the founder of the consultancy firm, Focus Media Consulting, which offers training and works on media and public relations, and communication.
In November 2020, Pa Modou Faal was a motivating participant in the Media Run Challenge pioneered by the managing director of the GPU subsidiary, the Media Academy for Journalism and Communication (MAJaC).
“This is good for health,” he said of the event, adding it was important for journalists to keep fit.
Faal was also an advocate for professionalism in the media and has on several occasions implored on journalists to uphold their code of conduct.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome on stage, Muhammed Faal and Naffisatou Faal, who would be receiving THE GPU’S 2025 PRESS FREEDOM HERO AWARD on behalf of their dad, Pa Modou Faal.
Aloa Ahmed Alota
The Gambia Press Union proudly recognizes Dr. Aloa Ahmed Alota with the 2025 Press Freedom Hero Award for outstanding dedication to promoting press freedom, freedom of expression, and media development in The Gambia.
Through pioneering initiatives such as the establishment of the first-ever school of journalism in The Gambia, Alota has strengthened the professional capacity of countless journalists.
His leadership in organizing workshops on investigative journalism, court reporting, cyber security, responsible reporting on children, and gender-sensitive reporting – including the project Women’s Depiction in the Mass Media funded by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives – has equipped journalists with the tools to report ethically, fearlessly, and accurately.
Many of his proteges have gone on to occupy leadership positions in newsrooms in The Gambia and with international news media outlets, as well as contributing to journalism education within the country and beyond.
A tireless advocate for freedom of expression, Alota led the project Strengthening Freedom of Expression Protections in The Gambia, in collaboration with Article 19 and funded by the European Union, between 2011 and 2012, advancing national policies to safeguard media rights.
His advocacy has however come at great personal risk, having been arrested and detained multiple times. He also co-authored A Living Mirror: The Life of Deyda Hydara, a seminal work depicting the danger of practising journalism in Africa, using the drive-by assassination of Deyda Hydara in December 2004 as a case study.
The book has been adopted by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) as a key advocacy tool and is endorsed by Reporters Without Borders, amplifying campaigns promoting press freedom across the region.
Beyond these accomplishments, Alota has served on media self-regulatory committees and juries for national journalism awards, mentoring the next generation of journalists and championing high standards of professionalism. This award celebrates his unwavering courage, dedication, commitment to a free, fair, and robust media landscape in The Gambia and West Africa.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome on stage, Demba Ali Jawo, who would be receiving THE GPU’S 2025 PPRESS FREEDOM HERO AWARD on behalf Aloa Ahmed Alota.
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NOTE: The GPU Press Freedom Hero Award is given to institutions and people who have promoted and defended press freedom and freedom of expression and have rendered selfless service in support of the media and media development in The Gambia.
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