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      The Outpost Team The newly-elected executives of the Association of Health Journalists, (AoHJ) recently, paid a courtesy call to the Officials of the National Nutrition Agency, (NaNa) headed by the executive Director, Malang N. Fofana, to formally introduce themselves and as well as to forward their activity plans for the year 2024 - 2025. The executives were Sally Jarjue the President, Secretary General Ousman A. Marong, Assistance Secretary General Sheriff Saidykhan and Treasurer Bakary Manneh. Addressing the executives, the Executive Director, of NaNA, Malang N. Fofana expressed gratitude for receiving the AoHJ executives.  He assured the executives of his agency's support in all AoHJ's activities adding that there will be more capacity-building trainings for AoHJ members. “Your request for the capacity building training is in line with policies and strategies. We will work on that together. What we need is for you to formalize things and back them with a draft MoU. We

    By Sheriff Saidykhan The embattled former minister of Interior and Inspector General of Police, Ousman Sonko told the Court in Switzerland that the defunct Independent Newspaper was closed by a Court order and that was why the police were presence at the premises for two years.  Sonko was pushed to a corner by one of the lawyers of a private plaintiff Madi Ceesay. In a cross examination, he (Sonko) said in defense of good human right climate during Jammeh’s regime indicated that it was in 2014 that their government established the National Human Right Commission, but due to lack of funds it was not functional. as the National Human Right Commission was as an act of parliament in 2017). In the ongoing trial of the former Minister and IGP, Ousman Sonko, who since 2017 was in jail for crimes against humanity the allegations ranges from multiple rapes, force imprisonment and torture.  Narrating his ordeals Madi Ceesay the tenth private plaintiff in the Sonko trial told the Court that h

             |Legal Luminary Shares Views On South Africa’s Legal Case Against Israel At ICJ|     By Almamy Fanding Taal At the same Forum in 2019 the Gambia stood up for justice for the Rohingya People. The Republic of The Gambia on 11 November 2019  instituted proceedings against the Republic of the Union of Myanmar before the International Court of Justice-ICJ, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, alleging violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide through “acts adopted, taken and condoned by the Government of Myanmar against members of the Rohingya group”. Africa the site of countless genocides, slavery and the most virulent forms of  imperialism have not only the moral authority but the abiding responsibility to demand justice for dispossessed people anywhere from the world court. Therefore, South African is doing the right bringing the State of Israel to the world court to answer for its crimes against the civilians in Ga

             By Sheriff Saidykhan Musa Saidykhan, onetime journalist at the defunct Independent newspaper has yesterday told the Federal Criminal Court in Switzerland about the severe torture meted out on him at the former (NIA). Musa informed the court that he was arrested on the 27 March 2006 by a group of army including some police officers at his home in Faji Kunda, and later transported to the PIU in Kanifing before taken to the NIA at night. He said he was put in a small cell together with some of the abortive 2006 coup plotters. Musa told the court that when he was taken to the NIA, said he was severely beaten several times and was forced to striped naked, and they applied electrical shocks all over his body including his private part.  Musa said due to those severe beatens he has lost his right arm and sights. He said during the second beaten his right arm was completely broken down twice.  He told the court that him and Madi were taken before the panel he could vividly see Ous

By Team Outpost Fatou Camara, one of the victims of April 14th peaceful protest has told the Federal Criminal Court in Switzerland about the gruesome torture meted out on her at the NIA. In her testimonies on Wednesday, during the eight sittings of the on going trial of Ousman Sonko, former Interior Minister for his alleged role in the human rights violations committed under the former regime of Yahya Jameh.  In her testimony, Fatou Camara told the court that she was assaulted by some PIU with a nasty slap on her face during the protest at Westfield.  “I was bundled into an open truck at the PIU with some other senior police officers, including Yankuba Sonko, then the Inspector General of Police and Yankuba Colley, former KMC Mayor together with the former Interior minister Ousman Sonko,” she told the court. Under the instructions of Ousman Sonko, Fatou told the court that they were moved from the PIU  to the Mile2 Prison. Fatou said she was picked with others from their cells one late

       By Sheriff Saidykhan      Alagie Saidy-Barrow, former TRRC Investigator  said  the character of commuters and drivers in the highways, has thus contributed to the growing nightmares in the traffic.  “Having left Banjul I finally made it into Serrekunda, and came face to face with my biggest nightmares, traffic!  If anyone wanted to study Gambians without the need to talk to us, they should simply observe our behaviours,” he said.  Speaking to West Coast Radio popular Coffee Time show on Tuesday, Alagie Saidy Barrow said the way we conduct ourselves in the  traffic "mirrows our behaviour towards one another".  He continued: “Let me start with the reason why I have to go deeper into Banjul. I got to McCarty square, and I was informed by a police officer that the road was closed off.  It was the same road I took into Banjul, and I spent lest than an hour I Banjul. The time was 13 minutes after 4pm. And people were getting to go home from work Our government officials, wit

        By Team Outpost Modou Ngum, one of the victims of April 14th peaceful protest has today told the Federal Criminal Court in Switzerland about the circumstances of the protest that led to the death of Solo Sandeng.  He said the protest was organised by the inter-party committee of political parties, but none of them participated during the protest.  Ngum told the court that they converged at Bambo and march towards Serrekunda to Westfield demanding electoral reforms. Upon arrival at Westfield they were forcefully dispersed by the PIU. He told the court that while at the PIU, they were asked to sit on the floor and hands tight at their back. He said Ousman Sonko, and the former NIA Director were all present there.  He said it was himself (Modou Ngum) Solo Sandeng, Ebrima Jabang, Nogoi Njie, Kafu Bayo Fatoumatta Jawara and Fatou Camara at the NIA.  Ngum said the Interior Minister and his team including Yankuba Sonko instructed the police to take them to the NIA office in Banjul.  N

           By Sheriff Saidykhan Hon. Madi MK Ceesay, MP for Serrekunda West Constituency and former Executive Editor of the defunct Independent newspaper has recounted his ordeal of torture under the ruthless hands of the then (NIA) now State Intelligence Service (SIS). Currently in Switzerland, to witness the on going trial of Ousman Sonko, Madi MK Ceesay explained the circumstances of his arrest that led to his torture. “This is at the time of the foiled coup in 2006. So as the news of the day; all the papers were keep quite and did not write anything about it. We interviewed the late Samba Bah, former Interior Minister as among the coup plotters. We did our investigations and published the story.  So when that happend he Samba Bah failed us. The next day him Samba drove to the office very angrily saying you guys published that am part of the coup plotters and arrested. Am getting calls from within and outside.  So as Professional journalists we assigned him with a reporter for an in

     | Former Gambian Diplomat Shares His Thoughts On The Political Trowback Of 2016 | By Mbemba Tambadou    Before the December 2016 presidential election, many people in this country were resigned to the fact that Dictator Yaya Jammeh could not be removed from power through the ballot box. That belief was a clear reflection of how much he dominated the political scene. How much, through the various forms of manipulation of the electoral process under his watch including the use of threats intimidation and quite frankly the very successful use of the divide and rule tactics. Despite these handicaps, political parties, especially the UDP, never gave up hope, of one day winning an election against him.  Because the political playing field was never equal under Jammeh, the United Democratic Party was the only party that was brave enough to organize peaceful protests to demand for electoral reforms in the run up to the 2016 elections. One of those protests led to the detention, and eventu

     Team Outpost Honourable Madi MK Ceesay, the MP for Serrekunda West Constituency and a onetime victim of Jammeh era has said that he is relief in the current on going trial of Ousman Sonko in Switzerland.  “As a victim I feel big relief, I am confident and optimistic that i will soon get justice that I waited for too long.  There is nowhere criminals can hide. Because the long arm of justice will find them wherever they go” he said. Ousman Sonko was arrested in 2017 in Switzerland for aiding and abetting the rights violations committed during Jammeh era.  The trial started on Monday. The defence counsel for Ousman Sonko raised lot of objections, saying the Switzerland court is not  competent to cover the case. All his objections were rejected by the presiding judge. Speaking to Outpost Media in a telephone interview, Madi MK Ceesay who is currently in Switzerland witnessing the trial recounted his ordeal. “I for one, was arrested by the police in 2006, and I was taken to the police

By Philip Saine On Saturday  9  December  2023,  The Diocese of Banjul celebrated the 35 th  Ann ual  pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Peace  at Kunkujang .  On the eve  of the  pilgrimage,   the Catholic Diocesan Youth Committee held a ‘Walk’ that extended from Tanji  Bridge to Kunkujang Mariama   a distance of 8.1 km .  The theme for the walk was  ‘Journeying with Mary towards a  S y n o da l  Church’ . It was a worthy activity   because Mary  deserve d  every walk to the Shrine      T he 35 th  Ann ual  pilgrimage  was a prayerful all-day celebration  that attracted  an  unmatched   large  crowd  and was  unique  in many ways  because   of the following:  1.  Fr John  (Jackie)  Sharpe CSSp,  a renowned  apostle of The Gambia,  a giant evangelist and  a  principal Co-founder of the Shrine, appeared in person . He first arrived in The Gambia in the year  1965 and  after completion of his missionary  service returned home  to   Ireland  in 2009 .  Some remembered him as a Priest