The one time favorite Journalist for President Jammeh and darling of GRTS Fatou Camara who also host the famous ‘Fatou Show’ has finally been charged with “spreading false information” and arraigned before Magistrate Lamin Mbai of the Banjul Magistrate Court. Fatou has been held incommunicado since September 17, 2013 without access to his family or legal representation.
A charge sheet read in court stated: ‘‘Fatou Camara sometime in the month of September 2013 in Banjul and other places in the Republic of The Gambia with intent to tarnish the image of the President of the Republic of The Gambia, published false news about the president on the Freedom Newspaper.’’ She denied the charges and was granted bail after posting a bail bond of five million Dalasis equivalent of $150,000 US dollars.
Fatou was twice appointed as Director of Press at the State House and was fired and reinstated without explanation. When she was working as a broadcast journalist she was the point person to make announcements of most sensitive information the government relates through GRTS notably the executions of the 9 prisoners among others.
Fatou’s charges after 23 days in detention raises more eye brows and leaves more questions unanswered. First these charges could have been brought before a court of law within 72 hours of her arrest and grant her bail. Detaining her without charges for almost a month defies any logic. Second, Fatou was known to be a fierce defender of this government and a sworn enemy to the Gambian online media and activists in the Diaspora. She went to the level of exchanging insults and labeling Gambian diaspora as aimless people doing dirty jobs in the United States who are only Jealous of the success of President Jammeh and the APRC government. How Fatou could willfully pass information to her perceived enemies defies logic and will not pass the taste of time. The timing of her arrest is questionable after months of being removed as Director of Press.
Thirdly, Fatou’s charges once again falls under the flimsiest of excuses and draconian media laws which are designed to take the cheapest and easiest shot to convict Journalists and citizens of passing information government regard as unpleasant to them. Evidence of this charge could come down to as simple as posting a comment on a face book page or exchanging words through text messages.
Many people are skeptical of the timing and the charges fearing that the government is once again planting false witnesses to convict Fatou Camara. It would be prudent for the editor of Freedom Newspaper to look beyond the sensations of mentioning him and his paper and clearly declare that the charge against Fatou passing information to them is false and have no merits. All Gambians are aware of Fatou’s position on Freedom Newspaper and other online activists.
It is also interesting that the Magistrate hearing Fatou’s case is Lamin Mbai and the lawyer representing her is former AFPRC Vice President Edward Sighateh. It may be a coincident but the line seems too blur for critical minds to brush aside. Fatou’s trial may be a taste of the new government law that was passed to censor citizens from using the Internet.