Very Busy

I have been very busy lately. Just accepted a software development job, which precipitates my move from the east coast of the United States to the Pacific northwest. Don't get any ideas nderry. I am not that easy to track.... I know you are dying to know who I am.

I have not been reading nderry lately...Moving isn't easy I tell ya. I have been living and geeking it up on the east coast for the past decade, so packing up and moving across the country is a monumental task. Following nderry was the least on my priorities list. It will stay that way for a minute. I am still trying to piece together my new surroundings. I may periodically drop in here and there, but a brother got to eat you know.

If any of you are interested in posting, be my guest....let me know.

Ghanaian minister advocates caution

While nderry is getting all over himself because a Ghanaian paper refered to the killings of Ghanaians in the Gambia as "jammenocide", the Ghanaian minister of the Interior: Hon. Kwamena Bartels is cautioning his countrymen to exercise patience since in his words:

“Not that the Government is quiet but we have to get some hard facts before we proceed and that is why we are using diplomacy to approach the case”, he said.

The nation of Ghana has no hard facts in the case. They are using diplomacy to get to the facts behind the killings. That in layman's term means...working with the authorities in the Gambia to investigate. Does it help the Ghanaian investigators if journalist without any shred of evidence try, judge and convict the sitting head of state of the nation whose help they need to solve this case.

Reading through the piece, I am kinda baffle at this admission by the Ghanaian interior minister:

The MP for Ablekuma North said the government did not even know the actual number of people who had died and their real identities since there were no records to prove that.

So the 44 people... a number bandied around is not even ascertained by the Ghanaian authorities. For all we know the number could be far less or greater than 44. I am betting lower.

Most of the people pointing a finger at Yahya Jammeh based their allegations on the words of an eye witness and the narratives of nderry mbai's police source: sekouba Jadama. In the case of the former, the interior minister made it sound like a classic he said, they said situation in this utterances:

He said they had not laid hands on any evidence just yet and that what an eyewitness was saying over here in Ghana was different from the position of the Gambians.

It is prudent that people opposed to Yahya Jammeh's regime, take caution and not get all excited as if this will spell doom for it. Unless someone can provide evidence that Yahya participated or ordered the killings, then it is save to say that in a court of law he isn't going to get convicted. Public opinion (especially in Ghana) is another thing.

I will conclude with this cautionary statement the Ghanaian interior minister made:

He continued that since the government had no evidence, there was no way they could attack a President of a sovereign country. “You can’t take any action when you don’t have your facts”, he stressed.

Did you catch that nderry? ... FACTS. I am not condoning the murder of innocent people, but I refuse to tag someone a murderer without any evidence, save for my disdain for his authoritarian rule. Granted Yahya is the head of state, but since when do we place all the crimes perpetrated in a country on its head of state without direct evidence.
Read the rest of the story here

Big baller, shot caller...

Nderry is living large. He got himself a $45 chair, a Walmart discounted cheap HP laptop and use one of the rooms in his apartment to show off his prowess as the leading Gambian online editor. All hail to the chief.... Can ya say baller?

On a more serious note, the Ghanaian murder case is a serious thing. The simple fact that 44 fellow Africans met their demise in our tiny country is a tragedy. The Ghanaian authorities should do all in their power to bring to justice those responsible for their brutal killings. To this end, they have done their investigations and an official statement hasn't been released as to who the culprits are. The Ghanaian press in the interim is running away with a story published by Nderry: sourced to a mysterious Sekouba Jadama at Banjul police headquarters. Nderry has on countless occassions been a sensational and unreliable journalist. The Ghanaian journalist writting these stories may not be aware of this little but very important factual nugget. In the meantime the image of our country is further drawn into the mud.

Nderry is wallowing in his new found fame. The Ghanaian press following the murder of their countrymen are quoting him ad naseum and he doesn't waste anytime pointing this out to anyone who will listen. Don't take my word for it...go to his crappy site and see for yourself.

On a personal note, I think the Ghanaians should put up or shut up. If they have evidence linking Yahya Jammeh to these murders, by all means get him, but running away with a story published in an anti- government website with a history of salacious reporting could come back to bite you when it is time to produce evidence. Will the real Sekouba Jadama stand up when push come to shove or will it be another phantom of nderry's imagination?

Human trafficking is a brutal trade. And by all accounts these Ghanaians are been trafficked into Europe using Gambian territory. Do we leave room to the possibility that traffickers could have a hand in their demise. This doesn't mean the authorities in the Gambia shouldn't investigate and relay their findings in a timely manner to their Ghanaian counterparts. However implicating Yahya Jammeh without any evidence (saved for Sekouba Jadama) could be a tricky issue when it comes to a court of law. Nderry will be well advise to seek legal counsel because as much as I detest his form of journalism, events could run their course into rough territories.

Nderry and the Ghanian massacre

Nderry is gloating about a quotation in a Ghanian paper about a story published on his site regarding the murder of 44 Ghanians in the Gambia. The story liberally quoted a police officer going by the name: sekouba Jadama alleging that Yahya Jammeh personally ordered the murder of the Ghanians.

I hope the Ghanian investigators are not as gullible as the author of that piece. If he has done any ground work or due diligence, he would not have put his reputation on a story based on nderry's reporting.

On the other hand, if the Ghanians should push this to the international court, then Nderry will be force to finger his source: the sekouba Jadama who knew so much about the murder of 44 people. Source confidentiality is not a defense in a murder case. After all the man wrote online that he is privy to information regarding the atrocities.

The game is up nderry....time to put up or shut up.

Nderry ...remove that photo.

I didn't know that DK Jawara and Alhagie Janko Tambajang are identical twins. If they are not siblings of the identical twin genre then why in God's world is nderry gracing an obituary of Mr. Tambajang with a photo of Dawda Jawara? Why not ask Demba Baldeh [ the author of the obituary] to supply you with one. Guess that will be too much to ask and plus he had Jawara's photo handy.

This might seem petty to some, but it is an abuse of accuracy in reporting. Readers not familiar with Gambia will think that the photo accompanying the obituary is that of the decease. No other Gambian outlet ran this obituary with the photo of Dawda Jawara. Why is that? Because it will tantamount to misrepresentation.

Breaking News

The title of this post is meant to provoke nostalgia for readers of what yanks Darbo called free-dem-fools newspaper. It has been a pet peeve of mine for sometime now that every rubbish nderry published has the breaking news tag line. He uses the tag so liberally that the erudite BambaLaye wrote a sweet satirical poem posted on the Gambia-L pointing this out.

Ok, alright...before y'all get on my case, BambaLaye never referred to our simpleton cum leading Gambian online newspaper proprietor by name. That was my mind playing games with me. But on a second thought here is the poem in it's entirety... read it and assign your own motives: isn't that what the art of poetry is all about...I digress:

Breaking News: I have a poem
Breaking News: Breaking news is all over the place
Breaking News: All news is broken or dead
Breaking News: I am sick and tired of the breaking
Breaking News: I'd rater have the news fixed, not broken
Breaking News: I saw Yaya stick his finger in his nose
Breaking News: I have an interview with a derelict
Breaking News: My interview is coming soon. Stay tuned
Breaking News: No news is good news
Breaking News: My Interview Part I
Breaking News: Who is trying to hack me?
Breaking News: Oh no not again!
Breaking News: My Interview Part II
Breaking News: I can interview myself
Breaking News: The editor laughed…ha..ha..ha
Breaking News: Boromsi was there; I swear
Breaking News: Who let the cat out?
Breaking News: One of Jammehs beeds on his "kurus" is lost
Breaking News: Wow you can break the news! You bet!
Breaking News: I'm tired of this shit!
Breaking News: Are you not tired of the crap?
Breaking News: I break it so you don't have to do a darn thing
Breaking News: Where not even Jammeh will give fling
Breaking News: The most authoritative source of news is here to stay
Breaking News: Not even a fly can sway
Breaking News: Our interviews will never fail to betray
Breaking News: We cling on to the last straw to keep you over-informed
Breaking News: No journalistic ethics can keep us straight
Breaking News: We are better than all of you
Breaking News: Our associated editors do not edit a darn line
Breaking News: We only have honorary editors – whatever that means
Breaking News: We are jourtalists, not your friend!
Breaking News: We care less about family – yes ma kowoh!
Breaking News: When it says sssh! We break it
Breaking News: No cheese for the be jesses'
Breaking News: We care more to talk about your messes
Breaking News: Freedom we believe in but can take it with a lie
Breaking News: Ndoutee ndoutee, you do it we tell
Breaking News: We tip the scales when it comes to tales
Breaking News: And so in twenties we go on…

I didn't seek permission from BambaLaye to publish his intellectual property here.
However I will gladly oblige if he ask me to take it down.
Having said that, I still believe this poem catches in a few sentences
what critics like me have been decrying about the lack of ethics that constitutes nderry's
journalism.

What is it Nderry?

On July 11th 2007, Nderry Mbai alias Lamarana Jallow published the following revelation about Yahya Jammeh and his ex wife Tuti Faal's marriage:

First Lady Tuti Faal Jammeh, never loved Yahya Jammeh. The two couples had history of problems, during their short term marriage. For Tuti, Jammeh was a “doll boy” with little sense of humor. Jammeh has on many occasions accuses Tuti of sleeping with his body guards. Though, there was no proof to back up such claims. As a senior officer in charge of VIP Protection and other key areas at the State House, I received numerous reports from our men about Jammeh’s late night quarrel with Tuti. Accusations and counter accusations of being “unfaithful” was the order of the day between the two couples... rest of the write up is here

Barely two weeks after that revelation, nderry: this time writting under his alias wiseman want us to believe that this woman who never loved Yahya Jammeh, leading to their divorce could be... gasp... having an affair with him. Here is a snippet of what he is saying now:

The Gambian leader is reported to have secured a luxurious house for the former first lady at the Taf Yarambamba Housing Estate, where the President secretly frequent at wee hours to chill with his former wife, this paper can authoritatively reveal. A highly placed source who handles President Jammeh's official and other private transactions informed the Freedom Newspaper about Jammeh's secret relationship with Tuti Faal, ...read story here

So the crew at fact free zone wrote a hit piece on the Jammeh-Tuti Faal break up making Jammeh look like a wussy. Tuti NEVER loved him they claimed and now they are saying these two are love birds nesting in a three million home some where in New Yundum.

Either way you looked at this, nderry comes out a liar. Either he lied about Tuti Faal never loving Yahya leading to their divorce or he is lying about their re-union. Nderry of all people should know what marriage entails. People getting a divorce doesn't mean they NEVER loved each other. Categorical assertions are a no no in this situations. Get the drift nderry....I don't expect you to...tsk tsk tsk.

I am not an apologist for yahya Jammeh or his government. However taking cheap shots at the guy is not helping the cause of his opponents. Publishing innuendo isn't going to bring down his government. Serious opponents of Yahya shouldn't allow themselves to be involved in any way or form with the joke that is nderry's tabloid. It dilutes their message.

Hate mail

Senegambia news: the new kid on the Gambian online newspaper block just got a taste of what bigoted detractors has in store for them. They [senegambianews] are more likely not going to be reading my rants, but just in case they do, I would advise them to grow a thick skin. There is more hate mail coming your way and as long as they don't threaten your life, consider it as one of the industrial hazards of opining on what Bush referred to as the "internets".

Nderry Debunked

In his usual shoot from the hip without due diligence, nderry treated his audience to news of an impending demonstration if Gambia's ambassador to the United States should attend the Raleigh North Carolina Gambian communities annual Gaamo. Here is a snippet of what nderry alias Kochibarma wrote:

It appeared that Ambassador Jagne is in the good books of these Gambians who invited him to attend such an important gathering. It’s not clear what these people intend to achieve by inviting Jagne to Raleigh. What is evident though is that the organization’s credibility has been put to question by critics. The Muslim organization which is expected to be apolitical-free of politics, for the first time in living memory is inviting Ambassador Jagne to be a guest of honor to the Raleigh GAMU scheduled for August 28, 2007. The said organization had across the board membership. Opposition, government supporters, conservatives and independent minded Gambians are part of this organization.......

If the said organisation has across the board membership and the membership decided to invite ambassador jagne to their Gaamo, then what is the problem. The last time I checked Jagne isn't accussed of any crimes. He is representing the Gambia in this country whether nderry acknowledge it or not.

However the kicker in all of this is that barely a few hours after he posted his story, the new comer to the Gambian online news space: SeneGambiaNews, debunked the story. The editor spoke to people in Raleigh and most of them have no clue where nderry is getting his shyt from. This is what Jambang is reporting:

Senegambia News wishes to inform the Gambian community in the US that there is no planned demonstration in the city of Raleigh, North Carolina as was falsely reported on Freedom Newspaper:

The planned annual "Gaamo" will proceed as scheduled and residents in Raleigh told Senegambia News that they have no plans to demonstrate against any Gambian. "we live in peace and harmony as Gambians. I do not know where he got that information from," said a long time resident of Raleigh.

The free market place is a wonderful thing. Nderry's fly by journalism is coming under scrutiny and the simpleton will soon find out that reporting the news in a truthful way shall set him free. Publishing innuendo and trash about your own people will only get you so far.

Nderry under fire

I have been sick and tired of Nderry Mbai's jotali. I decided to do something about it:fact check his stories whenever I have some time to spare out of my busy schedule. I am not for any kind of censorship. I abhor infringement of speech. However I am also a firm believer in the anecdote that say: to whom much is given, much is expected.

Nderry has a huge platform from which he can do a lot of positive things. Granted, there are people who might enjoy his tabloidy form of jotali. fact free and all. Attacking people ad nauseum with out any regards whatsoever to the validity of his claims or what the repercussions of his allegation might be on the victims isn't journalism. It is irresponsible and has ruin the livelihood of many innocent Gambians to date. .

Every time someone raise this topic, his defenders will yap about his free speech rights. However they will have to concede the point that with free speech comes responsibility. Furthermore, I have not come across any of Nderry's critics who want to curtail his fundamental rights to speech. What gets under our collective nerve is his penchant for sensation and shooting from the hip facts be damned.

His erstwhile colleagues are now saying the exact same things. Sour grapes? Maybe, but the timing stinks to high heavens. The latest victim of Nderry's vindictiveness isn't laying low. He is hitting back and I for one is getting my popcorn ready to watch this match. Yankuba Darbo, alias Yanks: who until recently has associate editor under his bylines has a score to settle with nderry. His first installation is posted at Senegambianews.com.

He promised his readers to subsequent installments on this nderry character. Finally someone will be hitting him where it hurts: his personal life. Now lets see how he likes that kind of free speech.

Nderry is sooo vindictive

If anyone has any reservation that nderry mbai is a socio-path with a grandiose sense of entitlement, then the case of Muhamed Jawara should serve as a testament. Jawara until recently serves as an assistant editor for the fact free rag nderry calls a newspaper. He decided to resigned from the editorial board to save himself from a tortured consciences. Here is a snippet of his resignation letter:

That said, my observations of the stories Freedom Newspaper carries on daily basis have made me conclude that the direction the paper is taking is not what i thought it would when i agreed to be part of the team. Therefore, remaining part of the team would only make me torture my conscience, which i strongly beleive is unnecessary under the circumstances.

Jawara went on to make some niceties about contributing stories to the fact free zone when the need arise, but what he wasn't counting on is the vindictiveness of nderry mbai. He [nderry] is a dictator. It is his way or the freaking highway. Nderry didn't disappoint critics like yours truly this time around either. He divulge confidential information shared between him and his erstwhile associate editor for all to read. Take a look at this line in his response to the resignation email sent to him in private by jawara:

We can vividly remember when you emailed the Freedom Newspaper about a year ago, requesting to be filing sport stores for us. You also asked our Managing Editor to help you with a supporting letter for your supposedly intended asylum application here in the US. Editor M'Bai respectfully declined your request since you never worked for his paper. M'Bai also told you that he cannot write such letters without the approval of the paper's editorial board.

I hope folks like Jawara: with far superior writting and cognitive skills learned a valuable lesson from this experience. Don't associate yourself with a simpleton trying to make a name for himself at the expense of all.

This is the second associate editor to leave the tabloid in a relatively short period of time: Jambang left a couple of months ago to start the senegambianews portal. His reasons are in alignment with Jawara's. He was saved the embarrassment since nderry probably has nothing humiliating to divulge about him.

Come On Alhagie Mbye

Nderry's London bureau chief started out with a bang. He created a position in the British government hierarchy that doesn't exist. The post of deputy prime minister doesn't exist in the britain. It is a symbolic post. Just like an honorary degree with no prevailing powers.The screen shot captured the story on nderry's rag at the moment. Nderry will eventually edit it without admitting to the mistake. So just in case he did, it will be featured here for eternity. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about the lack of deputy minister in the British system :

Under its uncodified constitution, the United Kingdom possesses no formal permanent office of Deputy Prime Minister.

Harriet Harman is the deputy leader of the Labour party and the minister for women. She hasn't been appointed by Gordon Brown as deputy prime minster. How Alhagie Mbye could equate her role as deputy party leader to a deputy prime minister (a post that does not exist) is beyond me. And what is up with all this fancy titles that nderry keeps creating for his fly by correspondents?

Click here to see a profile of the new british cabinet ministers....

Update:
Maybe I didn't make myself clear. However I am not going to pull a nderry and edit the post to cover up. What I meant to say from the beginning is that Gordon Brown hasn't appointed anyone as a deputy prime minister and thus the position doesn't exist.

Nderry trying to get Lamin Dibba Jailed...

Yeah I know my headline is inflammatory, but what else do you get out of this nonsense that nderry wrote on his paper:

What is evident though, is that the Gambian government has long been trailing our Western Division Correspondent Wise Man. Mr.Dibba is not a staffer of this paper and it's wrong for anyone to victimize him. Wise Man's stories are factual and is driving the state house crazy. You have sacked the wrong person. Dibba's sacking followed a lead story authored by Wise Man in which he exposed an APRC Chairman who was detained on domestic violence charges.

No where in the story is it mentioned that Dibba was fired for suspicion of working for nderry's rag. Why in God's name is nderry rumbling with denials of Dibba working with him.He was allegedly fired for writting about Jammeh's phantom HIV cure. But it is always about nderry. He is such a simpleton that craves for attention from all corners.

He couldn't even get simple facts in the story story straight. Take a look at this sentence in his story that is factually inaccurate:

He was reinstated, following an intervention made by Gambia's Agriculture Minister Yankuba Touray.

Yankuba Touray serves as the fisheries minister. Kanja Sanneh is the minister of Agriculture. The editor of "the leading Gambian online newspaper" (laugh) should know that. When was the last time Yankuba served at agriculture? In any case he was not the agric minister during Yahya's HIV cure spectacle.

My hunch is that nderry stole this story from his erstwhile colleague Yankuba Jambang. Mr. Jambang was associate editor at freedom until he had a falling out with nderry sometime last month. He started his own paper and this story was first reported there yesterday. Here is the link to the story.

Instead of linking to Jambang and giving him credit for the scoop, he coop the story and embellish it to make it look like Dibba was fired not only for his HIV story but for alleged links to his rag of a paper. Nderry knew how toxic his rag is with the authorities back home. Linking Dibba to it will get him jailed. Nderry's irresponsibilty has already screwed up the livelihood of a lot of innocent Gambians. Omar Bah (his associate editor) is a prime example. And that explains the inflammatory tone of my headline.

Does Nderry have a man Crush on Sambou?

In a post written yesterday, I pointed out that Nderry at fact free zone is emblazoning the face of local government and lands minister on his rag accompanied by stories that have nothing to do with Mr. Sambou. I took a screen shot of the said article knowing that nderry has a penchant for scrubbing his site off material when he is caught redhanded. True to form he removed the Mr. sambou's photo from the story without telling his readers that he was guilty of misrepresentation. However the internet been what it is Mr. Sambou can still get evidence from this blog if he wants to sue nderry for blatant misrepresentation. This is how the story looks like after the scrubbing.

I wonder if nderry has some sort of man crush on mr sambou. Why you ask? Well he had used his (sambou's) image in conjunction to stories he has nothing to do with before. Here is another one of those stories:



Nderry is going to get rid of this photo as well. However, the screen shot above will serve as evidence to all that nderry has no standards. He is a stenographer and publisher of street rumor. And now he is misrepresenting facts.

Misrepresentation

This is the image nderry has plastered on the front page of a rag he called an online newspaper. Another tabloidy story about a domestic dispute that has no bearing on the average samba on the streets of Banjul.

However the story doesn't end there. Because the picture he is running with the story is that of Ismaela K. Sambou ( the lands and local government minister). This is a gross violation of journalistic tenets. Mr. Sambou is not remotely connected to the story, but nderry in his infinite laziness used the man's image in relation to a domestic dispute case. If I am minister Sambou, I will sue for misrepresentation.

This is where he stole the original photo from.

This is not an innocent mistake. Nderry or his web master knew that the picture they are using is not related to the story... but they went along any way. I am not a lawyer, but I think Mr. Sambou has a genuine case here.

Et tu Sankareh

There you have it folks: the photo above is the infamous picture that supposedly showed Yahya Jammeh in a compromising situation with a married woman. At least that is what Ebrima Sankareh was insinuating when he wrote:

As part of our one year anniversary, The Gambia Echo will share a very discrete photograph of President Yahya Jammeh and a married woman.

Furthermore he wrote:

The photo speaks volumes about numerous allegations that have been wildly brewing in Banjul for three years now.It was taken at a house party at Kanilai when the First Lady was abroad.We are conscious of the potential embarassment it may cause our dear sister and her family but our trade is such that public officials have to be accountable.

Ok what the hell am I missing from that picture? Nothing in the scene look unseemly or even mildly embarrassing. You have two adults taking a picture in what looks like a garden. If you look closely, you will see what looks like a third person standing next to Nenneh. Is this Sankareh's idea of discrete? Unless Sankareh has a more damning picture, this just doesn't cut the sensational nature that he initially sold this story with.

I am really disappointed in Sankareh. This is the sort of shyt you expect nderry mbai to pull.

Nderry taken to the woodshed

After running his mouth without any regards to facts, without any due diligence, in this article published on the fact free zone, Pa Samba Jow, the victim of his slander has responded to nderry's idiotic blathering. Here is the response mailed to Gambia-L and the Post. Without further adieu:

Mr. Editor, please allow me to respond to your editorial “GPU USA is a joke!! Pa Samba Jow and co must go!!” which is in response to my article “Travesty of Justice or Betrayal”. I must first assure you that I take no ill from your article, precisely because it is only through constructive criticism that we as a people can forge ahead. It is however, imperative to correct some of the erroneous assertions in your piece.

First, you claim “The Gambia Press Union USA branch, under the leadership Pa Samba Jow is a total failure. It’s membership and Executive are in total disarray. No line of immediate communication amongst its members, no conference call, no offices, no serious leadership to steer the affairs of the organization. One is compelled to reason, if GPU USA is not another one “man show” surely and wholly hijacked by coach Jow. Yes, GPU USA is all about Jow and nothing else. Period. Coach issued alerts, press releases without consulting his Executive Colleagues. If this is what we call GPU USA, then it is about time it leadership consider steeping down. Moral conscience ought to have dictated to its leadership to call it quits, since they are not living up to expectations. It’s totally wrong for its Chairman Pa Samba Jow to blame his colleagues for the woes of Gambian journalists”

The only correct contention here is that we have no office. You know we have a listserv where we conduct most of our business. Secondly, it is very wrong to suggest that I issue press releases without consultation. I will endeavor to refresh your mind here. The GPU-USA has issued only four statements since its inception. The first one was to condemn the arrest of the Independent staff, which was edited on the listserv. The second one was a letter to African heads of state. That was drafted by Mr. Lamin Jatta and edited on the listserv. The third was to congratulate Mr. Madi Ceesay for winning an award. And the fourth was to condemn the arrest of Fatou Jaw Manneh. Again, I consulted with members of the group before issuing these release. Here the reader can see that your assertions are fallacious. Can you tell your readers how I hijacked the GPU-USA? As an editor and publisher of a newspaper, one expects you to resort to reporting facts and not to engage innuendos and conjuring.

Your claim that I blame our “colleagues for the woes of Gambian journalists” is not only repugnant but also devoid of any common sense. To do that will be criminal; the woes of the Gambian journalists are as a result of Jammeh’s tyrannical rule and no one else. What I did write is “The conviction of Lamin Fatty by Magistrate Buba Jawo on the flimsiest of charges sunk the Gambian judiciary to its lowest level. The whole trial was a witch-hunt by President Jammeh and his recalcitrant government. This verdict came as no surprise to those who follow Jammeh's tyranny. There is no doubt that the Gambian judiciary like all other branches operate on the whims and caprices of Jammeh.

What is however perplexing is the passive and carefree attitude of the Gambian journalists in the Diaspora towards the plight of our colleagues back home. Both the GPU-UK and USA branches are rendered impotent by the lack of participation of members and the deliberate decision by some former prominent journalists to sigh away from joining or supporting these two groups. It is a shame that the embattled and browbeaten media houses in The Gambia had to scramble to pay the fine for Mr. Fatty.”

Unless you are out to deliberately distort the facts, one can easily see that I was expressing my concern at the blithe attitude of journalists in the Diaspora towards our colleagues. Pa Nderry, can you honestly stand here and suggest to the whole world that the Diaspora journalists are doing their part in helping our colleagues back home? On your suggestion that “Moral conscience ought to have dictated to its leadership to call it quits, since they are not living up to expectations.” I am surprised to read this from you Pa Nderry after I have confided in you a number of times about my plans to step down and give chance to others to lead. In fact, how many times have I tried to convince you to become active? As the former secretary of the Gambia Press Union and publisher of the self-declared “leading and most authoritative source of news” your moral conscience should have prevailed on you to take an active role in the GPU-USA branch to help steer this organization to the right path.

You further commented: “For the records and the sake of posterity, we deem it imperative to dispute Pa Samba’s “wild and unfounded” allegations against our press men and women. Such allegations cannot go unchallenged,” I am compelled to ask my friend, what are the wild and unfounded allegations against our pressmen and women? I want to believe that either you did not read my article carefully, or you may have misunderstood what I wrote. In addition, I must curiously enquire, why did you not publish the article?

Again, you said; “We expect our dormant GPU USA branch, to draw leaf from Alieu Badara Sowe. This to some extent would help to preserve their integrity. These folks are guilty of “doing disservice” to Gambian journalists. The best thing they can do now is to resign and call for a fresh elections.”

Pa Nderry, It is clear here that you must have been writing with a lot of emotion and not enough reasoning or had a problem of deciphering what I wrote. It is always easy to accuse others of dereliction of duty, which I have no problem with because I am of the unflinching believe that criticism is the only way to make us see our mistakes. What I want you to do is tell the people what will Pa Nderry do to revive the “dormant” GPU-USA Branch? As the former secretary general of the parent body and the owner of the freedom newspaper, which has suffered from Jammeh’s tyranny, I would think you would at least be in a good position to help us out here.

What I find baffling is that I speak to you almost on a weekly basis but you have never expressed these diatribes to me or even given any suggestion for the way forward even though I have discussed the GPU with you on umpteen times. Finally, I will hope that you will attempt to get the facts about the GPU-USA and come to realize that we must come together for the greater good of all of us. Again, one who criticizes others must be prepared to accept criticism in good faith. I write in that spirit and hope we all will keep that spirit in mind when we find ourselves being criticized. Thank you.

Do I need to say any more? Nderry is a cancer on Gambian journalism. Until they [reputable Gambian journalist] stood up for their trade, nderry's nonsense is going to turn off a lot of people. Cojones my friends....

Wanker of the day: Nderry Mbai

Todays Wanker of the day is Horomsi... one of the fictitious names Nderry created for himself. Nderry's wankery has no bounds. Take this street rumor he just published as an example:

Horomsi:Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh to hand over the country to Gen.Tamba?? State House insider leaks Jammeh's plans!

For real? When is this monumental shift in power slated to hit the hizzy? Don't get any silly ideas. It is just one of those sensational headlines that nderry blazoned on his site to get your attention. However reading the first stanza makes you realize what a buffon this journalist wannabe is. Here is the first sentence in his story:

If the information I received from this State House insider, is to go by, President Yahya Jammeh is likely to hand over the country to General Lang Tombong Tamba pretty soon.

That clearly showed that nderry alias horomsi has some doubts vis-a-vis the validity of the information. Due diligence warrants that you verify before you published such a sensational story. Not nderry...he is as usual publishing incendiary stories that could undermined the tribal harmony of his countrymen. Here is an example of that from the same story:

Jammeh said so many bad things against the Mandingka tribe. For Jammeh, the Mandingkas should not be allowed to rule the Gambia anymore. He wants his own people to take charge of the affairs of the state.

Can you believe this chap...nderry is projecting his own tribal hatred here. This is the kind of stupid rhetoric that start civil strife. With freedom of speech comes responsibility especially when you are reporting heresay. Nderry should have learnt a lesson from his NADD disintergration articles. He was used by Juwara and Co. to malign the character of their opponents and in the process helped derail that fragile coalition. Now he is using made up quotes from made up permanent secretaries to create a Jola hegemony trying to dominate their fellow Gambians.

This is not a child's play nderry. Please stop the demagoguery while you are still ahead.

Where is the picture Sankareh?

It has been nine days since Gambia echo's Sankareh gave us a teaser about a picture depicting Yahya Jammeh in a compromising situation. I don't know about y'all, but i have been waiting for the doggone picture since.

If you are reading, monsieur, publish the photo already or at least tell your readers that the dog ate it. This statement published on your site on June the 7th 2007, is very captivating:

As part of our one year anniversary, The Gambia Echo will share a very discrete photograph of President Yahya Jammeh and a married woman...

I have seen a few articles on your site about its one year anniversary, but so far nary on the photo. Whats up with that...why are you always teasing your readers?

Pictures don't lie screamed the headline....well where the hell are they?

Omar Bah's demagoguery

Sorry folks, I have been busy with numerous projects at work. But needless to say not much has changed at Nderry land. Omar bah has made to the United states. He was a victim of Nderry's careless behavior but you wouldn't know that from his macho stance on what he perceived to be a slight on the fact free zone by one Amadou Lowe.

Nderry and Co. need to decide what rules they play by. Whenever you attack them for something crazy that's published in their rag, they protest that it's a home for all opinions, honest debate is terrific, it's not the perspective of the editors, etc, etc, etc. It becomes clear, over time, that you're not supposed to suggest that articles published in the fact free zone reflect the viewpoint of the rag. So I genuinely don't understand what Omar Bah one of the foremost advocates of this don't-blame-us-we-just-publish-here view, thinks he's proving when he says:

Before going further, I want to make it clear that this Amadou Lowe guy is a non-issue when it comes to Gambian politics and better still media. Just briefly, I wish to state that Mr Lowe has done nothing while within and outside the Gambia to merit even being given publicity in the paper - and I firmly belief such reactions we are giving him are unnecessary. But we have to. People like these do not have to be left unchallenged. He touched my pulse when he unleashed an unwarranted attack entangled in a barrel of lies against the Freedom Newspaper.

This is sad. First Bah tries his hand at diminishing the stature of Lowe, but he saw the fallacy of that argument and immediately switched gears and wax philosophical about someone attacking freedom newspaper. Has he been reading the junk published on the pages of that rag. The unwarranted, shoddily written and outright falsehoods that nderry publish about other people surely couldn't have escaped the eyes of the editor in chief. But I digress...

Omar: welcome to the USA....However if you live in a glass house, don't throw stones.

Give me a break

Just when I think nderry can't get any worse, he pull another sensational headline on me. Check out this headline on the fact free zone:

Breaking News:Gambians Protest over Jammeh's move to Block The Freedom Newspaper!!

Holy shit I said to myself. Gambians finally rise up to confront Jammeh over something. But alas, I am fooled again. It is one of Nderry's self delusional pieces free of facts. If you say something some many times you end up believing your own delusions. That is the problem with Nderry. He is a simple man who dream of grandeur and the internet affords him the avenue to live his fantasy. Take this slogan he spouts so many times:

The Gambia's premiere online newspaperBack to the piece,

We are indeed in trouble if a semi-literate, loud mouth, who doesn't follow the simplest of journalistic ethics is operating the gambia's premiere online paper. Self promotion is an old trick used by mediocre minds to try to boost their stock, but fooling people all the time is not feasible. Sooner or later they wise up and see you for what you are:an empty suit looking out for recognition.

Back to the piece, the question I have is: why is nderry so lame? His careless behavior cost a lot of Gambians their freedom when they sign up on the house of cards he built with no security whatsoever. He boasted at the time that the culprits will be brought to book. I wonder what happen to that vow. I guess that is just like OJ Simpson looking for the murderer of his ex and her friend. Been delusional and all, nderry expect us to believe that people in that same community will protest the blocking of his rag. What percentage of people back home is online anyway? So you see in the scheme of things, nderry's shit don't hit the average Gambian's radar. They don't even know much about the concept of the internet and those who do have more pressing issue than following the fact free crap nderry publishes after getting pissed off by his supervisors at walmart.

Town Crier

I have been extremely busy. Get that: I was so busy at work that I have not been paying much attention to the fact free zone that nderry called a News outlet. I happened to have the day off today and trolley my jolly self to see what spin he got going on lately. Yawn, it is town crier announcing his return to the madness that is the smear machine they operate from Raleigh.

With a headline like this blazoned on the front page, excuse my ignorance for expecting to read something informative from the "venerable" town crier, but alas no: here is the headline.

On Yahya's Alledged Escaped Prisoners-Town Crier is back with damaging revelations!!

I was expecting some serious revelations, not a rehash of the same stories we've all heard about how Daba Marenah and Co. were summarily executed by the regime. I was looking forward to details, not the same old story with a new sensationalized headline. But that is exactly what Nderry treated us to.

It is not a stretch if I say I didn't miss much this past days. Nderry is still full of himself.

Nderry deleting articles

If you are wondering why the links to Freedom newspaper are expiring when you clicked on them, well Nderry is hard at work scrubbing his site of articles he get criticize on. Here is a google cache of one of the articles he deleted....Link

Time and again, Nderry has revealed himself to be completely unmoored from reality.He has no regard for basic precepts of responsible commentary. Facts which are unpleasant to him are now deleted from his site. But yet the most serious accusations come spewing forth from his mouth without any regard to whether they are actually true.

Nderry spent most of his online commentary calling other people liars, frauds and murderers. However when confront on the facts, he tries his hands at historical revisionism:by deleting articles unfavorable to his cause.

And now that he stand exposed, yet again, as reckless and fact-free hysterics, he will simply move, unperturbed, onto his next manufactured scandal, with the expectation that he will be taken seriously. Is it really any wonder that not even Nderry takes nderry seriously? Why else would he delete his own reporting? "Chai fitna"

Be a man about it...

I am not a psycho analyst, but it’s got to hurt been Nderry Mbai. Imagine yourself as a big shot exiled journalist [as nderry does] with an online avenue where you spout whatever is on your mind about the government back home in the comfort of a utility apartment in Raleigh, only to have your ass handed to you day in day out because of the irresponsible nature of how you go about reporting stuff. That is exactly what happened to Nderry in this terse email from a victim of his “Jotali”:

For the record, I MODOU THOMAS was never arrested, neither did i got into any problem or even came close to being arrested through out my two weeks visit to my motherland. Am not going to talk about this anymore and if i should ever be made a FALSE headline news by PA NDERRY AND HIS PAPER, things will be different period!!. Journalism is about TRUTH, HONESTY AND CONSTRUCTIVE reporting and not DESTRUCTIVE news.

Damn…that’s a whupping…did you read that last sentence? Journalism is about Truth, honesty and constructive reporting. He even typed them in upper case: online parlance for a shout or scream. However Nderry, either zoning out the fact that he has just been called an ass clown, or doesn’t comprehend what the gentleman wrote went into another psycho babble about how much of a comrade Mr. Thomas is.

This paper's Editor had good professional relationship with Thomas. On numerous occasions, Thomas had picked up his phone inviting Mr.M'Bai for a dinner at his house. We cannot turn around and hate such a brother.It makes no sense!! Jammeh's devils in Raleigh should stop it before it's too late. Let them continue to try us and see.

Well well what do we have here? Thomas on numerous occasions invited Nderry over to his place for dinner. [take that with a grain of salt]. Nderry got a call from an anonymous caller about the magnanimous Mr. Thomas. However instead of verifying the veracity of the story, he plastered Mr. Thomas’s face on his site with the fake story. When called on it, he blamed his irresponsibility on Yahya Jammeh’s devils in Raleigh. This is beyond cowardly. Whatever happen to owning up to your mistakes?

Nderry Got Punked

Ashton Kucher has a reality show on MTV called Punk’d. He pulled stunts on celebrities, make some cry only to reveal to them at the end that it is all a big joke.

Nderry Mbai has just been punked by an anonymous tipster and in the process an innocent man found his photo plaster on the front page of the spin zone (freedomnewspaper), emblazoned with a breaking news headline that he has been arrested in the Gambia.

After been called on his irresponsible behavior by the victim, nderry decided to scrub the initial story from his site and replace it with a juvenile rant that will make your typical teenager who stays out past his curfew blush. Here is a snippet of nderry’s mindset:

Thomas who supposedly returned home on Thursday ,is very angry with the Freedom Newspaper for running the said piece, which he describes as misleading. We never confirmed that Thomas was arrested, all what we did was to report what the caller claimed. The questions that comes to mind are: Who is fooling who? Why claiming that Thomas has been arrested when he was never arrested in the first place according to him? Who is behind the said rumor?

First he admitted that he never confirmed the story. He just reported what some anonymous tipster told him on the phone without confirming the validity of the story. Then he went onto to ask a rhetorical question: who is fooling who? Isn’t that so obvious? Nderry you are the fool in this situation. You have been fooled. You wouldn’t be in this God awful situation if you took the tip with some caution and wait for a confirmation from Mr. Thomas. What is it going to cost you to wait for a confirmation? We know what it cost you when you didn’t. It reveals your amateurish behavior and tarnish your image even further. It shows that you are a tool. Anyone with an agenda can call you up and give you rubbish to publish.

You sound so pathetic asking yourself: who is behind the said rumor? Shouldn’t you ask yourself that question before you publish that rubbish? Isn’t that thinking out loud too little too late?

I kind of feel sorry for nderry after reading this portion of his rant:

Some people can be funny you know. The objective of the caller has been defeated because we never give credence to the alleged arrest. This will prove to the our readers and the world that the Freedom Newspaper is credible and cannot be fooled by such ponks. We never quoted any reliable source to back up the story. We are no fools to be used for misinformation. We know the job to the tip of our fingers. Some people spreads information for vicious reasons, but we are mindful of such people.

Nderry is really sick. How is it a defeat for the caller? The story he peddled got published. That is a hundred percent success rate to me. Whatever his motives are, the caller got you to publish a hit piece on an innocent person. You have been fooled and used as usual.

Nderry’s pomposity and megalomania know no bounds. Take this statement he made as an example:

Perhaps, the Federal Bureau of Investigations the (FBI) should be invited to review the webcam that was placed at the said phone to trace the caller.

This makes me laugh so hard. Why would the FBI waste their time and resources investigating bogus shit like that? Why are you taking your readers for idiots? You drop the ball by not following a cardinal rule in journalism (verify), but want your readers to believe the FBI is going to pick up the slack. Come on nderry…why are you so simple?

And by the way what is all this crap you espousing:

The Freedom Newspaper is vigilant!!! You cannot dine with the devil and turn around and fool us with such false alarm. Wrong timing???

Come again? You were punked and no amount of hand wringing is going to change that. It was perfect timing and you fall for it head on. You can either admit that, learn from it or continue burying your head in the sand and be the tool the caller knew you are.

Saja Taal

Stop the presses...shit is hitting the fan in the Gambia. Do you know that if you ever run afoul of Saja Taal, you will be held incommunicado for months? Chief Manneh found out the hard way if you believe Nderry and his correspondent Bolong jammeh.

By the way I bet the other online Gambian outlets have to be jealous. How come Nderry have all the coolest names in journalism reporting for him from the corridors of power in the Gambia. Serg PMJ, Justice Sam,landing Badjie and a coterie of informers including the venerable Lamarana Jallow (who couldn't get his story straight).

Anyways, back to the all powerful Saja Taal, who gets all emotional and devulged schemes he hatched against his nemesis in public. That is how stupid he is according to this report carried on the fact free zone also known as nderry mbai's freedom newspaper:

Last weekends Saja Taal was overcomed by temptation following an article published by the Freedom Newspaper concerning NIA's visit to Observer's concerning their allegation against Senegal. Dr Taal blamed his editorial staff of being responsible for the article and pronnounced that he will deal with the staff responsible and will deal with them worst than he did to "Chief Manneh".

Temptation...huh. "Walahi" you are killing me bro.

All kidding aside, how do a responsible person heaped the state's infrigement of a citizen's due process right on the managing director of a newspaper? The Gambia government arrested and is detaining Chief Manneh. His due process rights are been violated by the government and Saja Taal for all his short comings can't be blamed for that gross violation.

Oh Brotha

Ok I admit it: this is hard…following the drivel that fill up the pages of Nderry’s freedom day in day out is a full time job. I’ve got to make a living so I can’t be glue to my computer reading the fact free zone. Furthermore, it is just not healthy for me…some of the stories are so badly written and illogical that they make my head hurt reading them. Take this crap from Nderry’s alter ego Serg PMJ:

As I am writing this piece, two separate batches of six top National Intelligence Agency officials have been dispatch to the Senegalese Capital Dakar for a possible secret operation of abducting the fugitive Gambian soldiers. The soldiers under their target are Colonel Ndure Cham, Captain Sana Sabally, Major Kalipha Bajinka and Lt Yankuba Badjie.

So the NIA is dispatching its agents to go into a country, with a more formidable military and intelligence apparatus to abduct exiled, powerless former soldiers and they are carrying out this operation using as the venerable serg puts it:

The two groups will be using Gambian Diplomatic cars.

I heard that the NIA is brutal to the citizenry. It is a Gestapo a friend once told me. However you can add stupid to that narrative if you believe that they will use Gambian diplomatic cars in an abduction operation as alleged by Nderry’s mythical NIA insider.

60 NIA agents…yippee… Dakar will see what they are made of. They will abduct those soldiers and drove in air conditioned diplomatic vehicles to Banjul without the Senegalese authorities knowing a beep.

Come on Nderry…do you really want us to swallow that fiction.

Finally

Yipee... Sankareh's interview with former finance minister Bakary Darbo has finally hit the front page. It is a very captivating read...very insightful if I may add. It is worth the wait. Nothing like the crappy shenanigans Nderry pulls.

Here is the link....

Breaking News....psyche?

Hey could someone tell Mr. Sankareh that we are still waiting to read that interview he scooped with Bakary Darbo. The suspense is killing moi. It has been breaking for the past three days and we haven't seen the skinny yet. What is up with that? This is what the echo had on its front page on may 20th:

Breaking News:Exclusive Interview With Vice President B.B Dabo

We have just concluded a three hour telephone interview with fomer Gambian Vice President, Minister of Education and Finance & Economic Affairs, Bakary B. Dabo from his hotel lounge in Asmara.

I am salivating out here for the doggone story. Maybe the breaking part was a little premature...wouldn't you say. I wonder what headline monsieur Sankareh will come up with once he is done twitching the story that has been breaking for three days and counting. Its going to be "fantaboulous"...so stay tune... Oh the drama of it.

Update:
Mr. Sankareh has updated his site to reflect on enquiries like mine. The fantaboulous interview is slated to hit the echo on thursday (that is "Alhamis" for you Babou). A thousand forty people clicked on that breaking story advertising a story still waiting to break...thinking or looking for a...well forget about it. Any "hew" watch that space all you clickers...all thousand and forty of you.

Editor Jambang Quits Freedom Newspaper

Editor Jambang have had enough of Nderry's un-professionalism. The Lamarana episode has left bitter taste in his mouth. Here is how he put it courtesy of Gainako:

Dear Comrades:

I, Yankuba Jambang wish to inform my colleagues in the media and the readership
of Gambian online news outlets that I have decided, on principles, to quit as the associate editor of Freedom newspaper.com with immediate effect for the following
reason(s):

-Journalism is a responsible reporting and maintaining ethics; informing the public with credible news and not otherwise - this does not obtain at freedomnewspaper.com any more.

-Freedom newspaper's editor, Pa Ndery has resorted to the practice of censoring my observations on the stories he published without deciphering the truth from fiction, checking the language and making necessary corrections with view to avoiding unforeseen libel, defamatory and slanderous law suits. The most recent such incredible stories were the Daily Observer "insider's" ignoramus attack on Dr. Saga Taal and the fictitious Lamarana Jallows's incoherent diatribes on Col. Sam Sarr. I believe a grade 6 student in The Gambia would be able to connect the dots on that "disinformation" from Lamarana. And, much to my chargrin, the associate editor of the paper, Muhammed Jawara has decided to be Lamarana's defense attorney with an even immature argument. A porous matter in a perforated container cannot be solid!

When Lamarana wrote: "BB was one of those working with Sam on Jawara's comeback" and again said:"BB was posed to replace Jammeh if his plan materializes", one is bound to ask questions because the statements are contradictory.But editor Jawara with no journalistic background whatsoever thought the story was fit for publication!

On the coup statement, my argument was why would Sam Sarr subject Mr. Conateh for writing a statement when he (Sam) has the talents to do more than that. What Pa Ndery and Jawara failed to understand is that, be it Yahya Jammeh, Sana Sabally or Edward can each write statement on the coup. They had planned for it and each of these people had attended highly prestigious high schools in the Gambia and were good students academically. I said this because I have seen records; Edward at St. Augustine's where I too, did my A' levels, as for Sana Sabally I used his note books from Armitage when I was sitting for my O' levels years ago. If Pa Ndery and Jawara are able to write good statements why can't Jammeh and his men who graduated in late 1970s when standard in schools were far better than in our days? What Jawara and cannot appreciate is the fact that though these people(Jammeh and co) may have not held any high public office, they have been involved in the system since early 1980s when Jawara might have been a toodler. Let them; Pa and Jawara, tell the public why Sam Sarr would leave Jai Saidy, former president Jawara's press sectary for Mr. Conateh? Why would he leave Ebrima K. Sarr, former parliamentary secretary who used to write poetry for DK Jawara for M. Conateh?The story forwarded by Lamarana lacks merit due to inconsistencies and therefore unfit for publication.

I am out of the paper, period. Pa Ndery even went to an extent of posting my second piece on Lamarana only to remove it in minutes because he did not feel confortable with it without contacting me. Well, editor Jawara's is hanging up there because it's pleasing to his ears.

Needless to say I have been saying the same thing over and over since the start of this blog: That journalism is not "Jotalism" (stenography). Nderry is a tool and its good to see one of his associates come out say so. Its nice to say I told you so. Ha...

Yankuba...escaped death huh?

Accident involving the motorcade of Yankuba Touray is a public interest story. However to embellish the story is a whole different animal. Take this quote from nderry's story:

Yankuba Touray did not however sustain any serious injury according to sources.

But in the next breath they wrote:

The Agriculture Minister who escaped death was has been recounting the car crash story to his family, loved ones and aquaintances.

Whooo. Calm down. We are talking about an entourage here (a motorcade). If the vehicle Yankuba is travelling in is not directly involved in the accident (which your report fail to mention) how do you come to the conclusion that he escaped death. It is tragic that a man lose his life in that tragedy, but to embellish it...come on now nderry..

This is a badly written and edited story all over. Here is another troubling jingoism:

Meanwhile, police are investigating the car crash, which resulted to the death of Pa Bobo. The Gambia is currently faced by deplorable road conditions. Most of the major roads are bad in conditions.

Great news the police are investigating...but wait for this...voila

Police blames the accidents to reckless driving, over speeding and bad road network across the impoverished West African country.

That was fast police work. They determined the cause of the accident between the two sentences. The condition of the transGambia highway is a mess. It is deplorable. I will grant you that. However the road conditions on the north bank are pretty good. I drove from Barra to Basse in January...so I know from personal experience the road conditions in that part of the country. Kerewan (where the accident took place) happens to be on the North Bank.

Lets stick with reckless driving and speeding, because bad road conditions are not a factor on the north bank of the river.

And why in God's name do you have to drag the wife into this story. This is a story about a road accident that involved Yankuba Touray. But you gleefully push in a story about his wife's misfortune thus:

A retired Army Captain, Minister Touray had a bad new year start with the deportation of his wife Mami Touray Minteh from the US by the United States Immigration officials. Mrs. Touray who was denied entry upon arrival at an Atlana airport was said to have violated her previous visitors visas issued to her. The Ministers wife was said said to have over stayed while in this country. As a visitor, Madam Touray was not required to work, but she was said to have been engaged in hair braiding work while in Raleigh North Carolina. She was banned from entering the United States for the next ten years. Deportee Mami Touray had two kids American Kids.

For crying out loud what is the relevance to the original story...deportee: how shallow can you get?

Verify before publishing

The bizarre world that is the freedom newspaper never seize to amaze me. After Nderry published the dribble that Lamarana sent him without pointing out the inconsistencies in the story, associate editor Jambang has stepped up to ask Lamarana questions. Does the left hand knows what the right hand does at freedom newspaper editorial? Shooting first then asking questions later is the worst form of journalism.

I raised the same questions here and here that associate Jambang alluded to. Is he sneaking to read my ramblings? The similarities are leery to say the least. But I digress. I am glad cooler heads like Jambang are taking notice. However they need to put their foot down and demand accountability from their publisher. Publishing stories, then asking questions later is putting the cart before the horse.

I hope nderry is taking note, because he is getting schooled on his own platform.


Update:

A commenter on Gambia_L brought up a fundamental issue that took a shot at Lamarana's story and make it even less credible. He refreshes everyone's memory to the fact that Sam Sarr was arrested and locked up four days after the July 22nd coup. Bakary Darbo was in Dakar with Jawara then. Bakary Came back and served as finance minister until November of that year and had to fled into exile after the alleged coup. Sam was still locked up mind you. So the question becomes: how and when did these two gentlemen have the time to plot a come back for Jawara...which in of itself sound absurd to me.

A good reporter would have cover most of these ground before publishing hit pieces on innocent countrymen. Not Nderry. tsk tsk tsk....

Inconsistences

Another day, another convoluted write up with inconsistencies that any editor with a twelfth grade education can decipher. Not nderry. He published another one of the mythical Lamarana Jallow’s hit pieces without due diligence. Reading the article, you can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of some of the allegations made. Lets start with this snippet courtesy of our friend lamarana: shall we:

Sam was tasked by deposed President Jawara to receive the Guinean troops to foil the July 22nd coup. The Guineans were denied landing space by the erstwhile Senegalese President Abdou Joof. Conteh at the time had promised Jawara with quick reactionary force to tackle the coupists led by Yahya Jammeh. Some of the Guinean soldiers tried to land in Dakar, but were refused landing space by Joof’s government. Sam worked very hard to ensure that he laid down the necessary tactical operations to launch operation duped” restoring Jawara’s government.” This was the time he surveyed the Radio Gambia and other military instillations in the Greater Banjul Area.

I have to admit: this is the first time I heard or read anything about the Guinean attempt to help counter the July 22nd coup. It is not lack of interest. I devour any snippet of news written about that fateful day, but this is the first time I heard about that one. I wonder if Yahya Jammeh knew about that, because unless I have a faulty memory he has never uttered anything about the Guineans. But I digress.


I am not a military tactician, but why would the Guineans choose to land in Dakar to counter a coup taking place in Banjul. Wouldn’t that be putting them at a tactical disadvantage attacking the island of Banjul? How hard would it be for the Guineans to land their crafts in some part of the Gambia as opposed to Dakar? With the chaos that permeates the first day of the coup (by all accounts), the Guineans if they made it as far as Dakar could have snuck into the Gambia. Granted the consequences of such an action will be a bloodbath.

Where am I going with this? Well for starters to poke holes into Lamarana’s allegation. Readers are invited to correct me in the comments section on the Guinean angle. Have any of you read or heard that story before. I will put your comment on the front page as adjourned. Help a brother out here.

Ok lets move on to another allegation made in the article shall we? This one makes no sense to me, but I admit: I am a slow learner, so bear with me. But here is another one of Lamarana’s point that doesn’t jive:

BB was posed to replace Jammeh if his plans materializes. BB and I once had a brief chat shortly after he was hired by the junta. I remember him telling me that these boys got to go.

But in the next breath Lamarana wrote:

When news of the November 11 abortive coup hit’s the nation, BB fled the country. BB was one of those working with Sam on Jawara’s comeback.

Which is it Lama? Is BB trying to replace Jammeh or helping to get Jawara restored to power. Can you get your story straight? I am not holding my breath for an answer.

And finally the comedic part if the allegations are not so serious:

The Freedom Newspaper should be commended for its impartiality throughout this debate.

That is called sucking up my friend. Impartiality huh…Nderry not doing his due diligence and filling the role of stenographer has nothing to do with impartiality. He could have asked you about the inconsistency I pointed out above. Furthermore anyone familiar with the ego of African coupist will not fall for this crap Lamarana wrote:

While Sir Dawda was in exile, he was still interested in recruiting his right hands to end the era of the junta. The likes of Omar Faye now Sports Minister and Sam Sarr misled the old man on numerous occasions about their determination to lead troops to restore his government back.

If you believe these guys will over throw the AFPRC to bring Jawara back, then I got a bridge in Brikama to sell you.

This has been another edition of keeping Nderry honest.

Messenger or reporter

I waddle into the screech that is Nderry’s Freedom and what do I find? Sam Sarr taking him to the woodshed over his shoot from the hip without having all the facts form of reporting. Here is a snippet of what monsieur Sarr wrote in that piece that would shame any reporter who didn’t do their homework prior to publishing unsubstantiated rumors:

With perhaps a little fact finding, based on the contents of the smear articles, you would have been able to verify the validity of Lamarana's allegations. Before threatening through my private e-mail for opening a case file about my atrocities committed in the Gambia while serving in the GNA, I think you could have used a little bit of that valuable time to check on the following. 1. On the torture of Yaya Drammeh one of the mercenaries who attacked Farafeni barracks and killed eight Gambian soldiers, Lamrana talked briefly about Mr. Lamin Joberteh the legal officer at the NIA then. Perhaps a call to Mr. Joberteh would have helped you with the information that I was from Moscow flying to Belgium when Farafeni was attacked in October 1996. By the time I arrived in the Gambia, early the next morning, Yaya Drammeh and Mballow Kanteh were already arrested and detained at the NIA. Mr. Joberteh the legal wizard mentioned in the text was all along part of the interrogation team that handled the case. The gentleman is at home with a clean conscience and as far as I know he is very honest. If he could confirm Lamarana's allegation that I tortured Yaya Drammeh then consider me guilty as charged in that case.

That was exactly what I was alluding to in this piece yesterday: Due diligence. Nderry should have taken his time to sort out the complexities involved in this story before publishing Lamarana’s side of the story. I understand the urge or should I say the itch involved in been the first person to break a story. However that doesn’t mean discarding caution especially if a story has the tell tale sign of a hit piece.

A reasonable person would respond in a more contrite manner after reading Sam’s take on things, not Nderry. He is not having any of it. The buck stops with the victims of his malicious reports. He shifted the burden of establishing their innocence onto them. This is how he put it:

Finally, we apologize for any discomfort Lamarana's pieces might have caused to Mr.Sarr, his family, loved ones and supporters. We want to assure Colonel Sarr and Lamarana Jallow himself that this paper is only interested about the truth and nothing but the truth. Lamarana is entitled to his opinion just like Colonel Sarr. If allegations of this nature are raised in the future against Sarr or any officer who served under Jammeh's government should come forward to defend the allegations and not to blame us for carrying the role of a messenger. Thanks for your attention.

Oh really… a messenger huh. Since when do journalism equates to stenography.

Nderry has a platform that is frequented by hundreds of news starved Gambians in the diaspora. It has never dawn on him that unto whom much is given, much is expected. Passing street corner rumor for reporting is just lazy to say the least.

I am not trying to absolve Sam Sarr of wrongdoing. He acknowledged his role in trying the Farafenni coupist on TV. Personally, I think that is a gross violation of their right to a fair trial and Sam should be ashamed of himself for taking part in that sham. Furthermore, Nderry's irresponsibility shouldn't make him so paranoid to start assigning personalities to Lamarana. Below is his acknowledgement of the trial by media they pulled on those coupist:

Yes we were wrong according to the law to try them on TV and being wrong again when we did it in the Kartong attack in July 1997. But to be honest with you it was more out of ignorance than a deliberate flouting of the law. I will definitely plead guilty to that allegation before any jury. But you must also understand that as a young army trying to adjust in a post-coup d'tat era, a breakthrough coup d'tat for that matter mistakes like that cannot be justified but might not be that grave as other troubling matters given the numerous young lives wasted in that senseless attack. The soldiers were not fighting back but running away from their attackers; yet one by one they murdered them in cold blood.

That old anecdote "Ignorance of the law is no excuse" comes to mind. Having said that, I would hasten to add that Nderry if he is diligent in reporting would have found all these little nuggets and the write up (if he has any talent) would make a nice human-interest story. But with Nderry that is too much to ask. Tsk tsk tsk…