Deyda Hydara: Seven Years of Impunity

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Deyda Hydara: Seven Years of Impunity

Thursday, 15 December 2011 19:20

(JollofNews) - This is yet another anniversary of the assassination of prominent Gambian journalist, Deyda Hydara, the seventh year since he was brutally murdered by unknown assailants, and yet, there is no indication that the Gambian authorities have any intentions to investigate the case with a view to apprehending those responsible for this heinous crime.

It is unfortunate however that every time President Jammeh comments on the case, he makes some ambiguous remarks which tend to confuse rather than Deyda_Hydara_17

clarify his government’s stand point on the issue. A case in point was his last interview with the BBC in which he compared Deyda’s brutal murder to the deaths of other Gambians in road accidents, thus further dashing any hopes that the authorities have any intentions of investigating the case.

We can all recall the socalled ‘Confidential Report’ that was released in 2005 in which the authorities instead of displaying any seriousness in investigating the case, chose to subject Deyda’s personal character to all sorts of disparaging comments, even to the extent of blaming his death on his wayward behavior.

While there is as yet no iota of evidence to accuse the government or anyone else of responsibility for Deyda’s murder, but the least anyone expected from the authorities was to show commitment in thoroughly investigating the case with a view to bringing the culprits to justice.

Therefore, their failure to do so tantamount to shirking their responsibilities to a bona fide Gambian citizen.

From the very beginning, the Gambia Press Union and other civil society groups had called on the authorities to invite more competent investigating bodies from abroad to help our security forces to unravel the case, but they always turned down the call, saying that the security forces have the competence to carry out the investigation, and yet so far, they have failed to carry out any serious investigation. There is no doubt that if the government had agreed to such a proposal, then by now the truth would have been known as to who killed him and why. Therefore, the failure to investigate the case has definitely dented the Gambia’s image as a respecter of the rule of law and provider of justice for its citizens.

Therefore, in view of the obvious reluctance on the part of the Gambian authorities to investigate this heinous crime or invite other competent bodies for help, we are left with no other option but to call on regional bodies like ECOWAS and the African Union, or even the United Nations and the international community to assume their responsibilities and ensure that justice is done.

In fact the failure of the authorities to make the autopsy report available to the Hydara family or to even carry out a forensic analysis of the bullets recovered from Deyda’s body, which are some of the most basic things anyone would expect from any responsible authority, can easily be interpreted to mean an apparent attempt of a cover up.
Written by D. A. Jawo

Comments

+2 #4 2011-12-20 14:02

Mr Demba Jawo...continues to raise the bar..for Gambian journalists.

If others were to follow his example..

The Gambia would be in a better place.

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+5 #3 2011-12-16 19:48

What about the so called Investigation Report ? It only proves that either they (the investigators) were Incompetent or had No desire to solve the case...They succeeded in creating more Red Herrings( to confuse the case) than even Rev. Jim Swaggard managed to do in his debate with late Ahmed Deedat...

I even struggle to pick out their main suspects....It's been 7yrs but there are still credible witnesses out there who could provide vital information....Let's hope they are still around when a proper investigation is done and that the evidence gathered has been properly maintained ....

Justice,I believe,is not far away...The era of impunity is long gone....Only a FOOL will fail to realise this....And those who are fooled by Yaya Jammeh's rhetorics of not allowing 'this or that' should take notice...This case (as well as Chief Manneh) will be properly investigated,wh ether Jammeh likes it or not..

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+5 #2 2011-12-16 16:07

Gambia governments lack of showing commitment to this investigation was in no doubt since they refused to let in the experts that can conduct a forensic examination of autopsy to detect the cause of Deyda's death. This is why we will continue blaming Yahya Jammeh's government for the killing of hydara..99 days for the thief one day for the owner..if this killers escaped justice in this world they will never escape the judgement in the hereafter. We have a very bad Government. Jammeh has to hell...

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+5 #1 2011-12-15 21:32

There is a report in the Freedom Newspaper that the authorities in Banjul have finally succumbed to International pressure and have agreed to allow the UN to constitute a commission to investigate both Deyda's murder and the disappearance of Chief Manneh....So may be finally,the truths will be known...And both cases can be put to rest...Let's hope that the commission gets the fullest cooperation of the authorities .....That's the least we expect from them...

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