This Monday (16th December) is yet another anniversary of the assassination of prominent Gambian journalist, Deyda Hydara, the ninth year since he was brutally murdered by unknown assailants while he was driving home from work. Ironically, the killing happened near the perimeter fence of the Tactical Support Group (paramilitary police) headquarters on the busy Serekunda-Banjul highway, and yet, they claim not to have been aware of the shooting. There is also as yet no indication that the Gambian authorities have any intentions of investigating the case with a view to apprehending those responsible for this heinous crime.
However, instead of putting in all necessary efforts to find out who killed Deyda and why, the Gambian authorities appear quite unconcerned about the case. In fact every time President Jammeh comments on the case, he makes some ambiguous remarks which tend to confuse rather than 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, asking why anyone should be more concerned about Deyda’s death than those Gambians who have died in other circumstances, 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 by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) in 2005 in which they 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. In fact that was the last report they ever produced on the case.
While there is as yet no iota of evidence to accuse the government or anyone else of complicity in 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, it is generally agreed that any 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 investigators from abroad to help the Gambian security forces to unravel the case, but they always turned down the call, insisting that the security forces had 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 Deyda and why. Therefore, the failure to investigate the case has not only dented the Gambia’s image as a respecter of the rule of law and provider of justice for its citizens, but it has also heightened any speculations that the Gambian authorities may be accomplices to the killing.
Therefore, in view of the obvious reluctance and failure on the part of the Gambian authorities to investigate this heinous crime or invite other competent bodies for help, we now expect 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.
Even the failure of the authorities to make the autopsy report available to the Hydara family after several requests 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.