Due diligence

Nderry Mbai as usual published an unsubstantiated piece on retired Colonel Sam Sarr without due diligence. The source: one Lamarana Jallow claimed that Sam Sarr on July 22nd coerced Swaebou Conateh at gun point to write the maiden coup speech. This is how Lamarana put it in the piece:

It was Sam Sarr who "gun point veteran Gambian Journalist and former Radio Gambia Director Suwaibou Conateh to write a speech for the 1994 July coupists led by Jammeh." Sarr was accompanied by the former Army Spokesman Captain Alhagie Kanteh and Mamat Cham. Sarr was detailed at the material time by Jammeh to force Suwaibou Conateh to write a speech for them without his free will. Conateh was left with no option but to meet Sarr's demands or risked having his head blown off. Sarr told Conateh that he has two options-one to write a coup take over statement for them or risked losing his life. Sarr told him that the orders to force him to write such a statement emanates from their leader Yahya Jammeh...freedomnewspaper

However the internets been what they are, there happens to be another take on this story sitting in the archives of the Gambia_L. Sam Sarr writting under the pseudonym Ebou Colley has a different take on this incident. In episode seven of his gripping Coup in the Gambia series, he wrote:

However to get a well written speech for the chairman to read to the Gambian people about what the coup was all about, was one of our headaches that day. In the end we decided to contact Mr. Swaebou Conteh to help us. In actual fact we had wanted him to come to thestate house and work it out with us. But when Capt. Cham approached him at his house he pleaded to be left alone out of it. Anyway with the heavily armed troops that escorted the captain to the journalist's house he was left with no choice but to scribble a draft for Cham. That was the ingredient of that maiden speech Yaya has now put on display at ARCH 22 with his name stamped on it as the author.

He further went on to narrate in the ninth installment of his Coup in the Gambia series that Swaebou was in fact coerced at gun point to write that speech. Here is what Sam wrote then:

Certainly, I did not at the time know that the drafted speech by Swaebou Conateh that we painstakingly polished and coached him after to read it over and over before he could fairly understand the contents was eventually going to be claimed by Yaya as his personal efforts. Shame to this clown still having the text on exhibition at the ARCH 22 museum with his name stamped on it as the author. Swaebou Conateh is a no-nonsense person and he is still there active and sound. Let the Point or Independent news publishers him whether those words were not his original ideas written at gunpoint. Or try Capt. Mamat Cham and see.

Which brings me to the beef I have with Nderry Mbai. Due diligence required of him to do a little digging before publishing incendiary articles from any dick and harry with an ax to grind thereby tarnishing the image of innocent Gambians. If you read what Sam Sarr aka Ebou Colley wrote above, you have a distinct understanding that yes Swaebou was coerced to write that speech, but Sam wasn't present when the coercion took place.

I am not taking sides with Sam's version. But fairness in reporting required of Nderry Mbai to get the man's side of the story before publishing a hit piece and blackmailing him to respond. The onus is on the journalist to research their stories. Had Nderry Mbai taken the time, he would've known this other version and probe his source to reconcile the two stories. How about calling Mr. Conateh to get his side of the story. One thing both Lamarana and Sam Sarr agreed on about that speech is the fact that it was coerced out of Mr. Conateh. The bone of contention is who coerced him at gunpoint? One can deduce from Sam's article that he wasn't even at Swaebou's house. It was Captain Cham who was leading the soldiers that went to get the speech from Mr. Conateh. Lamarana is saying au contraire, Sam was there and he put the gun to Swaebou's head.

In the meantime, we haven't heard from the victim: Swaebou Conateh. Due diligence (yeah that word again) required Nderry to cover all this ground before publishing Lamarana's side. How about calling Mr. Conateh. He knew the person putting a gun to his head especially if it is a person of Colonel Sam Sarr's stature.

What am I thinking? It is Nderry Mbai we are talking about here. Due diligence is not part of his vocabulary.