By Omar Bah
The UNITE Movement has accused the Barrow administration officials of intimidating, threatening, and coercing GRTS journalist Omar P Jallow, declaring full solidarity with him and demanding an immediate independent inquiry into the conduct of senior government figures in his case.
In a statement issued Tuesday, UNITE said Jallow “has been intimidated, threatened with dismissal, and forced to publish false statements under coercion by officials of the Barrow government.”
The statement follows Jallow’s own announcement that he was coerced by certain people in government to deny initial reports that he was invited to the State Intelligence Services and had his service passport seized.
According to UNITE, the reprisal was triggered because Jallow invited Mayor Talib Bensouda of the UNITE Movement to his village cultural event.
“We are deeply concerned by the obvious attempt to tamper with press freedom and institutional fairness in The Gambia. Journalists should never face retaliation for taking part in community events. Omar Jallow was targeted simply because his village invited Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda to a fundraiser,” UNITE said.
The movement linked the incident to comments by Minister Hamat Bah. “This confirms what Minister Hamat Bah once mentioned during a political meeting: the government views Mayor Bensouda and the UNITE movement as such a political threat that any association with him, even through a village development event, is treated as an act of disloyalty punishable by job loss, interrogation, and public humiliation.”
UNITE alleged a coordinated campaign of intimidation. “There is an obvious attempt to instill fear among the population, especially journalists and individuals linked to UNITE and Mayor Bensouda, using state machinery to intimidate and silence perceived political opponents. We call this an absolute abuse of power.”
The statement directly accused Deputy Speaker Honourable Seedy Njie of orchestrating the coercion. “We must also highlight the role of Deputy Speaker Honourable Seedy Njie, who according to Mr Jallow’s own admission hosted a meeting at his residence, communicated that the government had recommended Mr Jallow’s dismissal, and then personally instructed the journalist to publish a false statement to clear Seedy Njie’s own name. This constitutes a blatant disregard for the rule of law and a gross abuse of political office.”
Meanwhile, Mr Jallow has since resigned from GRTS.
