The Daily Observer

Last updated

The Daily Observer is a newspaper published in Bakau in Banjul, the Gambia. [1]

Contents

The paper, Gambia's first daily newspaper, [2] [ self-published source ] was founded by Mae Gene and Kenneth Best in 1990. [3] Kenneth Best had previously managed another paper called the Daily Observer in Liberia, until the First Liberian Civil War caused him to relocate with his family to the Gambia. [2] In October 1994, following Yahya Jammeh's military coup, Best was expelled from Gambia, [4] although the newspaper was allowed to continue. Ebrima Ceesay, who was a journalist with the Observer at the time, became the editor of the Daily Observer newspaper after the deportation of Kenneth Best to Liberia. It was eventually shutdown by tax authorities on 23 August 2017 for non-compliance of its tax obligations. [5] [6]

In the early 1990s, the paper ran its History Corner on its weekend supplement (the Weekend Observer). The Gambian statesman and historian Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof "pioneered" this column (the History Corner) in 1993 before asking the paper's resident journalist Hassoum Ceesay to take over the column. Ceesay took over it in 1996. [7] Some of the topics covered during the tenure of Cham Joof included:

  • History Corner with Alhaji A. E Cham Joof, Diamond Jubilee of Scouting in The Gambia, Senegambian Scouting Joint Committee Senegalo/Gambian Katibougou old Scouts (Weekend Observer, 29–31 March 1995. p. 9 (Gambia))
  • History Corner with Alhaji A. E Cham Joof, The History of the Banjul Mosque, (Weekend Observer, 5–7 May 1995)

Ebrima Manneh case

In July 2006, Observer reporter Ebrima Manneh was reportedly arrested by state security after attempting to republish a BBC report criticizing Jammeh shortly before an African Union meeting in Banjul; [8] his arrest was witnessed by coworkers. [8] Though ordered to release Manneh by an Economic Community Of West African States court, the Gambian government has denied that Manneh is imprisoned. [9] According to AFP, an unnamed police source confirmed Manneh's arrest in April 2009, but added he believed Manneh "is no longer alive." [9] Amnesty International considers Manneh to be a prisoner of conscience and named him a 2011 "priority case." [10] The Committee to Protect Journalists has also called for his release. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Gambia</span> Country in West Africa

The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for the western part, which is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yahya Jammeh</span> 2nd president of the Gambia from 1996 to 2017

Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh is a Gambian politician and former military officer, who served as President of the Gambia from 1996 to 2017, as well as Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council from 1994 to 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Gambia Scout Association</span> National scouting organization of Gambia

The Gambia Scout Association, the national scouting organization of the Gambia, was founded in 1921, and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1984.

Deyda Hydara 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. Hydara also worked as a Radio presenter in the Gambia called Radio Syd during his early years as a freelance journalist.

Radiodiffusion Télévision Sénégalaise (RTS) is the Senegalese public broadcasting company.

The Point is a daily newspaper published in Bakau, the Gambia.

The Bathurst Trade Union (BTU) was the first trade union in The Gambia and the first legally registered trade union in the African continent. Founded by Edward Francis Small in 1929 in Bathurst, the organisation emerged from the Carpenters' and Shipwrights' Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebrima Manneh</span> Gambian missing journalist

Ebrima B. Manneh was a Gambian journalist who was arrested in July 2006 and secretly held in custody. In March 2019, the Gambian newspapers The Trumpet and "The Point" newspaper reported that Manneh died in mid-2008 while being taken from a police station to the Diabugu Batapa hospital. It is said that he was buried behind the local police station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof</span> Gambian politician

Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof commonly known as Cham Joof or Alhaji Cham Joof, was a Gambian historian, politician, author, trade unionist, broadcaster, radio programme director, scout master, Pan-Africanist, lecturer, columnist, activist and an African nationalist who advocated for the Gambia's independence during the colonial era.

The University of the Gambia (UTG) is an institution of higher education located in Sere Kunda, the largest city in the Gambia.

Pap Cheyassin Secka or Pap Cheyassin Ousman Secka was a Gambian lawyer and politician. He was the minister of justice and the former Attorney General of the Gambia.

Alhaji Bai Modi Joof was a barrister at law from the Gambia, practicing from the mid-1970s to 1993, the year he died. Also known as Alhaji B.M. Joof, B.M. Joof or Lawyer Joof, he was a member of the UK and Gambian Bar, and a barrister and solicitor of the Gambian Supreme Court. He was termed the "champion of free speech" by some quarters of the Gambian press during the administration of president Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara. He was a defense-barrister and came from a Wolof and Serer background of the family Joof. He is not to be confused with his former protégé, Joseph Henry Joof, who is also commonly referred to as Lawyer Joof.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hassoum Ceesay</span>

Hassoum Ceesay is a Gambian historian, writer and museum curator at the Gambia National Museum. He is one of the most prolific Gambian historians.

Alieu Badara Saja Taal was a Gambian academic and politician.

Fatou Jaw-Manneh is a Gambian journalist and activist who received political asylum from the United States in 1994 and has lived in the U.S. ever since. She is a well-known member of the Gambian community in the U.S. and runs the popular news and politics website Maafanta.com. She was the first female reporter at the Gambian Daily Observer and is widely known as “Gambia's Iron Lady” and the “Dame of the Flaming Pen.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zeinab Jammeh</span> First Lady of The Gambia

Zainab Suma Jammeh is the former First Lady of the Gambia and the main wife of Yahya Jammeh, the former President of the Gambia. Zainab has two children, a daughter and a son, with Yahya Jammeh. In September 2019, the results of the Janneh Commission, a committee of inquiry set up by the Barrow government to investigate Jammeh's financial activities, were published. The report indicated that she has appropriated public funds from the Gambia amounting to 3.3 million Dalasi and 2 million US dollars through her foundation.

Brigadier-General Ramatoulie D. K. Sanneh MRG is an officer of the Gambia National Army. She joined as an enlisted member before being commissioned as a captain in May 2006. Sanneh was appointed a Member of the National Order of the Republic of The Gambia in 2010 and was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in May 2011. She became Gambia's first female army general and has since worked to reduce gender-based violence in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Gambia–Turkey relations</span> Bilateral relations

The Gambia–Turkey relations are the foreign relations between The Gambia and Turkey.

Ndey Tapha Sosseh is a Gambian journalist and unionist. In 2004, she became editor-in-chief of The Daily Observer, making her the first female editor-in-chief of a daily newspaper in the Gambia's history. From 2008 to 2011, she served as president of the Gambia Press Union.

References

  1. ↑ "Contact Us Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine ." The Daily Observer. Retrieved on 28 February 2009.
  2. 1 2 Gabriel I. H. Williams, Liberia: the heart of darkness, Trafford Publishing, 2002, p.333
  3. ↑ "Liberia: Daily observer turns 37 tomorrow". All Africa. February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  4. ↑ W. Joseph Campbell, The emergent independent press in Benin and Côte d'Ivoire, 1998, p.19
  5. ↑ "Daily Observer Closed Again". Foroyaa Newspaper. 2017-08-24. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  6. ↑ "Daily Observer closed again". thepoint.gm. The Point. August 24, 2017. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  7. ↑ Daily Observer, Alh. AE Cham Joof, a great Gambian historian (tribute) by Hassoum Ceesay, (Friday, April 15, 2011) archive
  8. 1 2 3 "Gambia must account for missing journalist Ebrima Manneh". Committee to Protect Journalists. 14 April 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  9. 1 2 "Missing Gambia journalist is dead: police". AFP. 14 April 2009. Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  10. ↑ "Ebrima Manneh". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2011.

13°28′30″N16°40′34″W / 13.475°N 16.676°W / 13.475; -16.676


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.