…Point Newspaper Insider Tells His Side Of The Story In This Exclusive

By An Insider

The journalism fraternity in The Gambia is smarting from the devastating effects of the reported resignation of one of their members following a death threat issued to him by the Gambia 's minister of sports yesterday.

Junior sports reporter Ebou Manneh of The Point newspaper verbally made his resignation known to his colleagues after having received a call on his cell phone from sports minister Mass Axi Gye. During the course of that call, the minister threatened that he would take his [Ebou’s] life if, “you continue to be used as a tool by others to undermine my position.”

According to well-placed sources, the minister had earlier yesterday telephoned the no. 2 Garba Jahumpa Road offices of The Point, requesting to speak to sports reporter Ebou Manneh.   The minister was apparently infuriated by reports leaked to him that reporter Manneh had intended to publish “damaging information about my person.”

The issue that now lingers in the minds of many is, how did the minister know that Manneh had intended to publish something that could be inimical to his status as a minister? Was the information given from the inner circle of The Point and if so, what is the future of one of the country's leading newspapers vis-a-vis secrecy and credibility? These questions and many more may, at least for now, remain unanswered but what is clear though is that journalist Manneh is yet to return to work. His single mother of three is clearly concerned about the threat and has taken it seriously.

Meanwhile, in their conversation of yesterday, which is now on record, Mass Axi Gye had threatened the journalist saying that he was over 60 years of age and that he had nothing to lose. He told Manneh that he had lived his life. The minister said that there are people in some quarters who are using reporter Manneh to shake his position.

The minister's death threat followed hot on the heels of a violent murder of an Imam in the Central River Region of The Gambia. The Imam had earlier reported several threats of death on his life. But before that, several Gambian journalists, some of whom had gone into exile or killed, had received such threats to their lives.

You can contact Manneh on 7821505.