Yusef Taylor, commonly known as Flex Dan is an editor and practising journalist based in the Gambia with a keen interest in human rights, the economy and good governance among many others. He continues to break news on the economy, human rights violations and is highly engaged in security sector reforms, constitutional reform and the transition of the Gambia from dictatorship to a democracy, the NewGambia. Yusef has been working with Gainako as a media practitioner from 2015 to date. He has a degree in Civil Engineering with 5 years of Design Consultancy experience.
By Yusef Taylor and Edward Francis Dalliah
Former President of the Gambia Press Union (GPU) and now Parliamentarian for Serrekunda West Constituency spoke to members of the GPU about former doyen Deyda Hydara and encouraged the current Executive to keep striving forward. Hon Madi MK Ceesay of the United Democratic Party (UDP) was the GPU President from 2005 to 2008 and a colleague of former GPU President and veteran media Chief Deyda Hydara.
Speaking at the Annual General Meeting which took place in late April 2023, he reflected on the demise of his colleague Deyda Hydara who co-founded The Point Newspaper. The late Deyda Hydara who was the President of the GPU from 1990 – 1998 had his life cut short by the Junglers who are a private killing squad that reports directly to President Jammeh and General Tumbul Tamba.
Hon Madi Ceesay highlighted that the “TRRC has given us all the revelations indicating that our veteran the late Deyda Hydara co-founder of the Point newspaper was killed by Jammeh, that chapter is getting close to the end”. Volume 7 of the TRRC Report features the theme Attack on the Media and provides detailed testimonies on Deyda Hydara.
According to the TRRC Report, “two of the Junglers Malick Jatta and Alieu Jeng confessed to [Deyda Hydara’s] killing when they testified at the Commission. A third Jungler told Ndey Tapha Sosseh in an interview that former President Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh had ordered his killing”. According to Malick Jatta after members of the Junglers were summoned for normal patrol back in 2004, General Tumbul Tamba told them that “today we are going for the magic pen” which is a code used to conceal their operations.
The members of the Junglers who were mentioned to be present on the day include, Malick Jatta, Alieu Jeng, General Tumbul Tamba, Sanna Manjang and another group led by Kawsu Camara (alias Bombardier) and Malafi Corr. The first group led by Tamba was in a Taxi Benz 200 while the second group joined the pursuit after Deyda in a Mercedes Benz V-Boot 190 taxi.
The TRRC Report notes that “Malick Jatta testified that Tumbul Tamba was in communication over the phone with the President saying, “Yes Sir, and Your Excellency.” He believed that Tumbul was receiving instructions from the President at that point.”
Explaining how Deyda was killed Malick Jatta narrated how the two groups communicated and “trailed a small vehicle around Westfield, close to the Police Garage. Tumbul Tamba drove opposite the vehicle and then said: “Gentlemen the driver is the idiot.” He stated that he thought that meant the man was “a rebel.” He believed that Tumbul referred to the target as a rebel to motivate them because they had accepted the responsibility to protect the territory and its people. When the order was made by Tumbul Tamba to shoot, a shot came [from] the front passenger seat as the car kept moving and Tumbul shouted you better shoot and all of them shot the vehicle.”
Another Jungler Alieu Jeng “informed the Commission that Tumbul Tamba removed the pistols from underneath his chair, gave it to them and ordered Manjang and Malick to shoot and asked him to stand down. Malick Jatta confirmed that he, Alieu Jeng and Sanna Manjang shot the vehicle and Tumbul gave the order to shoot the target”.
After executing Deyda Hydara the group of Jungler Assassins drove to a garage said to be owned by former President Jammeh where they “boarded Tumbul’s vehicle and drove back to Kanilai”. For the murder of Deyda Hydara Malick Jatta confessed to receiving D50,000 as “a token of appreciation from the Big Man”. It’s not clear how much others received but Malick confirmed that all of them received an envelope.
In their quest to pursue justice for Deyda, the TRRC Report highlights how former GPU Secretary General Saikou Jammeh’s testimony of how the GPU “supported the family of Deyda Hydara to file a suit against The Gambia government before the ECOWAS Court for failure to investigate his death”. In response “ECOWAS ruled in favour of the family and awarded fifty thousand US Dollars (US$ 50,000) in damages to the family and ordered The Gambia Government to investigate Hydara’s murder. The Barrow Government eventually paid the family the award in 2017, investigations are yet to be carried out”.
More recently, one of the former Junglers by the name of Bai Lowe is currently undergoing a trial for his involvement in numerous executions and human rights violations during his time working for the regime. The son of Deyda Hydara, Baba Hydara has also testified in the trial against Bai Lowe which is currently progressing in the Higher Regional Court of Celle, Germany. According to our source, the case is currently awaiting judgement with a date yet to be set, however, the accused Bai Lowe has requested to cross-examine some witnesses, which may delay the process.
The government’s silence towards the process has left a lot of people concerned that the government is not showing commitment or political will to prosecute perpetrators as compared to the international community which has also resulted in charges being brought against Ousman Sonko at Switzerland Courts.
Speaking of his admiration for the GPU, Hon Madi Ceesay said: “I am proud of you to have taken the union to higher heights and I will call your indulgence to continue doing these great things”. He reaffirmed his commitment to the media whom he called his second constituency: “I am only on contract and at the end of my contract which will come sooner or later I have to come back where I belong to” he noted.
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