MY ENCOUNTER WITH FREEDOM NEWSPAPER

Freedom Newspaper: Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readership?

PK Jarju: I was born in the 1980s in Western Division and I started my journalism carer after the completion of my senior secondary education. While I may not have come from a privilege family in rural Gambia that depended so much in farming, I had a passion for politics and journalism since my primary school days. I joined The Independent Newspaper in March 2000 as a freelance reporter and a year later I was made staff reporter specialising in political and judicial reporting.Some of the high profile cases I covered at the time were the treason trial of Dumo Sarho and others, the court martial of Lt Landing Sanneh, the murder trial of the UDP leadership, the Sami chieftancy election among others,
In the summer of 2003, joined the Daily Observer under Sheriff Bojang Senior and Pascal Eze as a sub-editor and later rose to the position of senior news editor or deputy editor as my boss used to put it. While working at the Observer, I also started Allgambian newspaper with Bubacarr Ceesay which is based in the US.


Freedom Newspaper: Many readers are wondering if PK Jarju, is really okay? What makes you to take such an opposition stance against your brother Yahya Jammeh? Anything special about your opposition against Jammeh?


PK Jarju: I don't understand what you mean whether am Okay? Well if you mean mental wise, I am as sane and sober as a saint. I never drink or smoke. My opposition of the Jammeh regime arose from the fact that the regime is unfit to governed the country simple. Just take a look at the actions and behaviour of our political leadership and you will know what I mean.


The APRC regime does not have the interest of the Gambian people at heart. It came to power not to salvage the Gambian people but to fulfil the leadership's long term ambition of becoming the most powerful and wealthy Gambian period! The regime has hijacked the country and is ruining the hopes and aspirations of the Gambian people. The Jammeh regime is tearing our country to shreds. It is a regime that has seized the rights and freedoms of Gambians. It has transformed our God blessed country from a cheerful to sorry state. I see it as my responsibility and indeed that of every Gambian to stand up and oppose tyranny.


Freedom Newspaper: You shared the same ethnic group with President Jammeh. Many believe that PK being a Jola should support Jammeh come what may. Do you buy such arguments?


PK Jarju: National interest transcends tribal interest. I may have been born from a Jola family, which am very proud of, but I don't consider myself to be a Jola. I am ethnic blind and I consider myself a Gambian. If you look at my passport or national identity card, there is nothing there identifying me to the Jola tribe. All it tells is that I am a Gambian and I am proud to be a Gambian. It is very absurd for people to consider all Jolas to be APRC supporters. That is ridiculous. Although Jammeh is a Jola, but maladministration is affecting all ethnic groups.


Freedom Newspaper: How would you reconcile your past assertions on this very paper, that "President was developmental oriented and therefore Gambians should give him a chance to develop the country"? What actually went wrong? What led to your sudden change of heart towards a leader, you once praised ?


PK Jarju: Now lets get this clear. Like many Gambians at the time, I trusted the regime when it claimed that it took over the reigns of power in the best interest of the Gambian people. I used to believe in their policies and programmes and I even nearly lost my life in a car accident in September 1996 while campaigning for the APRC. But how naive I was. I thank Allah for saving my life, thereby giving me the opportunity to see the true colours of this fascist regime. If I had lost my life in that car accident, I would be looking down at the Gambia from heaven and crying, looking at the sorry state of our country's affairs. I was blinded with the white elephant projects the Jammeh regime is using as a political weapon to win the hearts and minds of Gambians. But after a sober reflection and analysis I have come to realise that the leadership is nothing but a wolf in in sheep clothing.


The Jammeh regime has lost its sense of direction and it can be likened to a ship in the middle of the ocean that has suffered a general power failure. The Gambian leadership is sinking believe me or not. The once formidable structure is splitting apart. The leadership is paranoid and trusts no one. And instead of gracefully exiting from the corridors of power, it is using force to cling on to power. Like I stated in one of my recent on-line postings, the Jammeh regime has committed gross human rights abuses against innocent Gambians it has sworn to protect. Utter disregard for the rule of law and democracy have led to a situation of uncertainty. A torrent of arrests, sudden disappearances have left Gambians today more confused by the uncertain direction of a revolution which is supposedly guided by President Jammeh in his "wisdom and magnanimity as the saviour of the Gambia".


Mr M'bai, let me tell you something about me. My parents despite the fact that they were poor farmers, used their hard earn monies to send me to some of the best schools in the country so that I can be wise. My parents knew that ignorance is a cancer and they never want me to suffer from that terrible disease. They wanted me to be enlightened, know who I am and take the command of my own destiny and I am proud to be doing exactly that. Yes, I use to support the APRC party but I am today ashamed to have identified myself with a party that has brought nothing meaningful but poverty and hardships to the ordinary Gambians. I am ashamed to have associated myself with a party whose leadership have made many parents fatherless, wives widows and children orphans.


I believe in democracy and there is no democracy in the Gambia. What we have in the Gambia is Jammehcracy, which can be best defined as government of Yahya Jammeh, by Yahya Jammeh and for Yahya Jammeh. And am I cannot support a regime that have no respect to the rule of law. Jammeh regard himself as god and he wants everyone to worship him. My conscience cannot allow me to ignore the brutality and sufferings Gambians are going through.


Freedom Newspaper: What makes you believe that Jammeh has failed? Any supporting evidence to backup your claims?


PK Jarju: Just take a look at the Gambia and you will know what am talking about. When Gambians should reflect on the very dark days of Yahya Jammeh's regime, they will find in "the revolution" an epoch seething with rage, plunder and recklessness. The Gambian people are being so cruelly held to ransom by a gang of politicians who can employ any means necessary to stay in power despite the deleterious effect their rule may have on the lives of the people.


The regime has failed to live up to its slogan of accountability, transparency and probity. It has become unaccountable, nontransparent and unable to get rid of the ills it claimed were riffed in the previous Jawara regime. This regime is worse than the Jawara regime and the once happy people of the Gambia are today living in a sad and miserable society; where a greater percentage cannot even afford to acquire a decent meal for the day. In other words, the revolution has brought nothing meaningful but retrogression, hardship, and endless suffering to the Gambian people.


What can be described as bad under the erstwhile Jawara regime is at its worst state today. Corruption is at its highest with the president and his cronies hijacking the country's economy which is squandered and diverted into personal use. The president and his associates, who were nowhere near the rich ladder before coming to power, are today the richest and most wealthy people in the country. They own vast assets and properties and businesses both in the country and abroad.


The July 22nd revolution was not brought about to alleviate the suffering of Gambian people. It was conducted by a group of unpatriotic, selfish, greedy, and power hungry soldiers who were only interested in becoming wealthy and powerful. They have become so intoxicated with power that they crush their political opponents and anyone who dares stand their way. Never do they intend to exit the corridors of power, for it is a dream come true. The national cake belongs to them alone. All those calling for a fair distribution of the cake are branded enemies and unpatriotic citizens.


While I welcome the construction of schools especially in the provinces, where I originated from, yet some of the schools can only be seen as white elephant projects. They only have quantity and not quality and do not provide the much needed education to Gambian children. Take for example, while many of the upper basic schools built by the revolution boasts of high enrolment, they lack qualify teachers, libraries and other educational materials. As a result only a small percentage of students get good results to make it to Gambia Senior or St Augustine's Senior or Nustrat Senior Secondary, which are regarded as the best schools in the country. With regard to public senior secondary schools, the number of students graduating with no credits in eight subjects is rising at an alarming rate. These students do not have a bright future. All what they face is a bleak future where they cannot go to university or get any meaningful marketable skills.


Although the government continues to rant about the quality of these schools, government officials prefer to send their kids to private schools like Marina International, Ndows' Comprehensive, and other expensive schools that produce good grades. Education in the Gambia today is divided between the rich and the poor. I say this because public schools that produce poor grades are for children from poor backgrounds while private schools are for children from wealthy backgrounds. Is that what you call success in the education sector?


On the health services, while government has built hospitals and health centres, yet many of these hospitals and health centres like the schools are not well equipped. They are continuously hit by persistent drug shortages, lack of qualified doctors and ambulances. Many Patients die of preventable diseases like malaria and the infant mortality rate gets higher.

In some cases, patients are asked to buy fuel for ambulances to transport them to major hospitals and due to the poor state of our public health services, many Gambians now prefer to seek medical care in private pharmacies and health centres.


The Gambia's agricultural sector is at its worst state. Cultivation of groundnuts which is the country's main export has declined rapidly due to disastrous trade seasons. The continuous failure of government to put in place effective agricultural policies has severely affected the livelihood of farmers. Many farmers today struggle to put food on their tables and the skyrocketing prices of basic commodities is causing a lot of suffering in the farming communities.


Despite spending millions of Dalasis on the Jahally Pacharr and Kuntaur rice projects, Gambians are far from being food self-sufficient. The price of rice Gambia's stable food increases week in week out. The country continues to import almost everything we eat from neighbouring countries.


I can draw a list as long as my arm regarding the abysmal failures of the Jammeh regime.


Freedom Newspaper: I am sure your family are not in support of your critical stance against the Jammeh leadership. What are their concerns? Will you quit writing because of family pressure?


PK Jarju: I went into journalism against the advice of my family. Every Gambian is aware of the plight of journalists in the country and my parents never wanted me to join a profession which although is noble, but hated by the men in Quadrangle. I am always under constant pressure to quit because my family perhaps don't want to see a bullet put through my head. I love my profession and I love what I do. But sometimes it is hard when you are given an ultimatum to choose between family and profession. There are so many things happening in my family life which I will not go about stating here in case it is misunderstood by some big headed people.


Becoming a critic of the Jammeh regime has given me two things. While it has helped to dispel the widely believed notion that all Jolas are supporters of Yahya Jammeh, on the other hand, it has made me a hated figure among the Jola people. Could you believe that some of my close relatives have cut off all ties with me not because I disrespected them or converted to another religion. Its just because I have the balls stand up against a bloody dictator who hates to be told the hard fact. I have lost so many Jola friends especially those serving in the army and other state security units in the Gambia. Don't look at my photo byline and you think that am enjoying. Am not. The worst thing that can happen to a man is to be shun by his family and friends. But you know what Mr M'bai, I will die with a pen in my hand. And may be I will add in my will that I should be buried with a pen and paper.


Freedom Newspaper: We read in ALLGAMBIAN.NET, that your life was threatened. Who are these people planning to finish PK Jarju? Do you know them? Are you worried by such threats?


PK Jarju: Looking at the record of the Jammeh regime, any threat should be taken seriously. If these guys can arrest and torture people for merely subscribing to an on-line newspaper, then what do you think they will do to someone who criticise them, more so a Jola who is expected to remain loyal to them at all cost. I was never bothered about threats. I do receive funny emails from people who claim to know everything about me. One of them is called Kebba T Sanneh a security officer at State House. Mr Sanneh claimed to known all about me including how I came to the UK, my private life, my home address among other things. The guy claimed that my village mates in the army are all sad to see me criticising the regime. And this are some extracts from the email for the benefit of the doubt:

".......I told you brother you are too young to think of this and is better for you to think of the future. I told you that most of us speaking knows you and you dont know us. Am always sad when chatting with your **** (my village) friends who knew you very well and always say they dont know what make you think of this. One thing you must know our intelligence work very well in the Gambia and our country is too small and all of us come from one family...... One thing you fail to understand the politics in the Gambia is base on triblisim. This is why they dont want to see Yaya. They think every jola comes from cassamance just as they are saying all Jolas of **** come from cassamance......Everyone in *****(my village) feel very disappointed to have one shameless Jola saying he s speaking of the truth. I told you there is no truth in this world...... You never know what implication that will bring you but you followed those stupid people in the USA, who is the tribe they fighting not development in the Gambia. I can reveal to that in the military of the Gambia 85% are all Jolas and any security you think of 60% are Jolas. Do you know why this happen? When most tribes where saying that there is no pay in the military and all decided travelling, the Jolas join the army and other security forces. Today we dominated and we ruling and we ready to die for the country whether you know it or not. We keep a dam to all cowards I call it who in exile wanting us to fight for them. Am sorry for you but you full address is know.... I should not reveal this to you but I just feel sorry for you. Sorry that our reggage star [Lucky Dube] is gone and even the president is his reggage star. He even gave a speech about the dam killers. Am back in the Gambia and we looking forward to seeing you ...."


I am not moved an inch by those threats. Allah is my Shepherd and it is only Him who knows how I am going to depart this world. But if these people think that they can silence me, then they better think again.


Let me say one more time to these murder happy boys at the NIA and army that I am not shaken by their threats and no amount of blackmail and intimidation will make me abdicate my noble profession. The Gambia belongs to all of us and it is our responsibility to bring the Jammeh regime to its senses anytime it enact laws or does things that are not in the interest of the country and its people.


These murder happy squad must never think that my commentaries and articles will ever disappear from the front pages of Gambian newspapers and websites. The ink of my pen shall never dry; neither will my computer keyboard get stuck because my instruments of information shall always be mightier than Jammeh's satanic sword and your machine guns and RPGs. Their claims that they know my address and what I do will never make me to move out of my apartment. I will continue to live in the same place and do what I am doing.

And in the event that they succeed in blowing my head up like they did to Deyda Hydara and Chief Ebrima Manneh (May their souls rest in peace), more radical Gambians including my son will stand up and express their thoughts and feelings on the brutal and dictatorial regime in whose name they are committing heinous crimes against the very people the have sworn to protect.


Freedom Newspaper: Why should anyone want to kill PK Jarju, because of his journalistic work?


PK Jarju: They are the only ones who can answer to your that question. But the byline PK Jarju will by the grace of Almighty Allah keep appearing on Gambian newspapers. It will only stop perhaps when am killed or incarcerated at the NIA headquarters in Banjul or secret detention centre. For certain, I know that President Jammeh can only do four things when he lay his hands on me and that is; kill me, torture me, jail me or set me free.


Freedom Newspaper: What would you say to government critics, accusing journalists of defaming the name of the Gambia? Are such claims accurate in your own view?


PK Jarju: You know what. It baffles me when I read such kind of articles. These sycophants are doing a great disservice to the country. Their actions are very criminal and the Gambian people should not pay heed to what they say on GRTS and in the Daily Observer. Its all load of rubbish. What these sycophants are doing can only be seen as an act of desperation. It can be likened to the last kick of a dying horse. They knew that the regime and the leadership they worship has fail woefully and all they do now is shift the blame on opponents and critics of the regime anytime they stumble.These sycophants wants Gambians to believe that Jammeh is a Puritan and Mr Perfect and that anything that goes wrong even due to his incompetence are not his faults. It is always someone else's false and in most cases they want us to believe that it is the opposition or journalists. How interesting is that.


These sycophants are taking advantage on the fact we the Gambian people are believing and trusting lot. They treat us like small kids who should believe in everything Jammeh does or say even when he tells us bed time stories of pigs flying, curing Aids, curing barrenness, dining and settling piece between devils or having the ability to know things that are about to happen in 40 years time. How wonderful is that?


The Gambian people have to wake up and see the light. Hello! But hang on a minute! Should we blame these sycophants? No. They are only doing their jobs. We should blame the Gambian people for allowing them to spread lies and their acts of hypocrisy. Where else in the world would these people be allow to do their dirty work? Well you tell me the answer.

Freedom Newspaper: The general perception in the Gambia is that most Jolas are NIA officers, because of their ethnically connections with the President. How do you managed to work with The Independent Newspaper, all these years, without being suspected of being an NIA agent? What was the reaction of The Independent editors, when you showed up in their office looking for a job?


PK Jarju: I joined The Independent at the age of 18. I could have easily joined the NIA looking at my school results and my family connections. But I have always wanted to be a journalist even though I knew that it is not a get rich quick profession. I hate working in organisations where you act on orders or force to do things that are against your conscience.


Baba Galleh Jallow, Alagi Yorro Jallow and Abdoulie Sey (Prof) were very professional. They never show the slightest doubt in me and have always treated me with respect. I was the youngest reporter in the newsroom and they did a very good job in boosting my confidence and giving me the ability to believe in myself. And I say thank you sirs.

Freedom Newspaper: How was life like at The Independent?


PK Jarju: Life at The Independent was very exciting. The newspaper has the motto Truth is Our Principle and the cardinal rule there is reporters must write nothing but the truth. Competition was very high among the reporters which included Lamin NB Daffeh, Alhagie Mbye, Mbaye Saine, Lamin M Dibba, and Namory Trawally. We only come out twice a week and as a freelancer, I have to work my arse off if I want to take some money home. The only way I can do that is to look for front and back page stories because page 3 stories only decorates the files in the computer room.


The Independent has always been a torn in the flesh of Yahya Jammeh and its editors and reporters were often targeted for having the balls to write stories that Jammeh never want to see on the new stands. Self-censorship was never practised there. We have a rule that Gambians have a right to know nothing but the truth.


Sometime later, Mbaye Saine left the paper. Baba Galleh Jallow left for studies in the US, NB Daffeh left to the UK too to pursue a course in Law and Alhagie Mbye later left the company after falling out with Yorro. Meanwhile, some new crop of reporters like Olufemi Peters, Sanna Camara, Omar Bah and others joined the company. I was later made staff reporter a position I held until I left the company.


I really enjoyed working for The Independent. But I have to admit that my family were always against me. They were always concern and would keep ringing me anytime am not home before dust. We were never afraid to write any story which is in the public interest. The NIA were always interested to find out the author of stories that sometimes don't have bylines.Jalamang Jammeh was also pain in their bum and the NIA officers desperately tried know who the guy was.
We work hard at The Independent but we also have time to play. Ahmed Carayol was our comedian in the computer room and he always kill us with laughter with his jokes and stories.


I will boldly say here that, The Independent was the place that can either make someone a strong, courageous and successful reporter or a weak and unsuccessful one. The choices are there for the men and women in the newsroom to choose.


Freedom Newspaper: What contributed to your departure from the Independent? Do you joined the Daily Observer because of financial fortunes or what?


PK Jarju: Leaving The Independent was not an easy decision.Alagi Yorro and Abdoulie Sey were like blood brothers to me and I will forever remain grateful for all the support they gave to me since the first day entered in the newsroom. I joined the Observer not for financial gains. I saw it as a challenge. And being made a sub-editor was a challenge I could not resist. Everyone want to progress in life and accepting to work in the Observer was another step I think was worthy for me to climb.
Like I said earlier, I knew that journalism in the Gambia is not a get rich quick profession and did not join the Observer to make some quick bucks. I was content with my pay at The Independent.


Freedom Newspaper: Can you reflect on your days at the Daily Observer?


PK Jarju: It would take the whole day if I am to tell you everything. But let me put it this way. The Observer at the time was doing well. Although there was this big question mark hanging in the air regarding its ownership. I believed in Sheriff Bojang when he told me that the company was owned by Amadou Samba. There was no sanction against opposition stories and all our daily prints are always sold out before mid-day. When I joined the Observer, Pascal Eze was then the editor-in-chief.

Mr. Eze left one or two months after my arrival there. Why he left, I don't know. Some said he was asked to go by the company's board after we published a page 3 story authored by Ebrima Jaw Manneh in which Baba Jobe alleged that HIV/Aids was invented by the Americans. The American Embassy in Banjul was very upset with the story and Jackson MacDonald, the US Ambassador at the time made a strong protest to the Gambia government.

Sheriff Bojang took over the mantle and he did a damn good job. The geezer knows his job and we use to finish producing the paper sometimes before six in the evening. I was in charged of editing the inside stories, columns and producing the world news and international sports. Sheriff was modest and honest. He was not bossy and he operated an open door policy and he use to joke and play with the reporters and other members of staff. His cook use to bring food to the company five days in a week which we would all eat together in the newsroom.


The paper also did very well under Ndey Tapha Sosseh, who rejoined the company as editor-in-chief after her studies. Ndey was very friendly but firm. She never took shit from anyone. While she was head of the newsroom, there was never a time when Sheriff Bojang tried to interfere with the editorial content of the paper. Sheriff only pop in and out of the computer room to give us press releases or adverts that were sometimes addressed to him. The only time you see him working in the computer room is when he is helping us produce the Sunday Observer.


Sheriff was never happy when the Observer board sacked Ndey. According to him, it was like been forced to divorce the wife you love so much. Ndey was sacked because the board was not happy with the way the paper was being run. She was accused of turning the paper into a more radical paper than even The Independent.

Her decision to go on a week-long news blackout along with other newspapers after the murder of Deyda Hydara also contributed to her removal.


One thing we later realised at the time was that the Observer was infiltrated by the NIA. An editorial staff we both trusted (name withheld) was recruited as an informer for the agency. Nothing was secret at the office and the agency was privy of anything discussed at the office and who does what in the paper.


The decision of the board to sack Ndey was a terrible mistake and great disservice to the paper. Her successor, Momodou Sanyang [Sanyangba] had no experience in journalism. The man had health problems and cannot withstand the air condition in the computer room. Well, he don't need to be in the computer room in the first place as he was not computer literate. Sheriff was never happy with the appointment of Mr Sanyang. Our sales began to drop and we started getting returns.


Meanwhile, unknown to us, Sheriff was having a secret kung fu battle with the board and he was later sack and replaced with Mr. Sanyang. Lamin Cham, the paper's sports editor, who was helping Mr Sanyang to edit the paper, was appointed editor-in-chief and assisted by me and Omar Bah. While Cham was responsible for editing the front and back pages, me and Omar were responsible for editing the inside pages.


I cried when Sheriff told me in the computer room that he was leaving the company. I had seen a resignation letter he wrote a day earlier which me and Omar Bah pleaded with him not to sent to the board. Sheriff was like a brother to me. He was not only my boss, but my teacher as well. He taught me many things and still have a lot of respect for him. The guy did a lot for the paper and the board should appreciate his good work.
Things were never the same at the Observer since the removal of Sheriff.

Knowing the weaknesses of managing director, the company's board started interfering with the editorial of the paper. But I refused to let anyone police my thoughts. I was then in charged of editing the opinion columns and I continued to use mails and articles that the board never wanted to see. I was ready to get the sack.

One day, I deliberately used an article in the opinion column authored by Salieu John, which was in response to the Justice Paul Commission of Inquiry. In the article, John had a serious go at Jammeh and even faulted his way of fighting corruption. Mr. Sanyang was very mad when he saw the article and he took Lamin Cham to the cleaners for not keeping an eye on the stuffs that I produce on the paper. After the incident, I was assigned new responsibilities. That is to produce only the world news and international sport. Margarette Jones was hired to edit the inside pages.


A commendable thing Mr. Sanyang did during his tenure was appointing some freelance reporters like Ebrima Jaw Manneh, Modika Bah, Lamin Dibba, Ramatoulie Charreh and Sheila Okomiya as staff reporters. He also improved the communication system within the company.


Mr. Sanyang and Mr Cham were later sack in connection with a story authored by Ebrima Jaw Manneh. The story was in connection with a meeting the Gambia Chamber of Commerce had at State House with Jammeh regarding the boarder impasse with Senegal. In the meeting, the Chamber of Commerce admitted that the impasse was hurting the country's economy and that the government should devise a modality of solving the dispute with Senegal. President Jammeh was said to have ordered a news blackout about the meeting and he was reported to have gone absolutely bananas when he read the story in the Observer.


Saja Taal and Mam Sait Ceesay were appointed managing director and editor-in-chief respectively. Their appointment put the company into more mess as everything began going from bad to worst. Saja Taal kept firing reporters for no reason. Take for instance, Malick Faye was sacked for just asking President Jammeh a question at the Banjul International Airport. What the hell am I doing here? I asked myself a week after their appointment.

The Observer was no longer the place for me. It was no longer the place for any serious minded journalists. In fact it was a dangerous place to work. The paper was infiltrated by NIA informers.


Freedom Newspaper: How did you managed to work at the Observer, under such a hostile media climate? Are you for real PK?


PK Jarju: So many things have happened at the Observer, which I haven't stated here. But I will reveal everything in my memoirs Inshallah. I used to ask myself why I was never sacked from the Observer.

I did so many things that could have warranted me to get the sack. What you need to remember is that, I was not the editor-in-chief. I did not have the final say of what was going in or out of the paper.


Freedom Newspaper: Was Saja Taal a good MD, compared to Sheriff Bojang Senior? Can you compare and contrast the difference between the two?


PK Jarju: Hahahaha. Saja Taal was rubbish if am to be honest with you. Comparing him and Sheriff is like comparing day and night. Like I stated earlier, Sheriff Bojang did a lot for the company.

When Sheriff rejoined the Observer, the company had hit the bottom rungs; no good machines, one broken down vehicle, millions of Dalasis in debts, incredibly low sales, very low morale. He successfully turned around the company by acquiring new machines, launched a new website, bought vehicles for management and staff, paid some debts, restructured the rest and started investing in treasury bills.

The paper's circulation was doubled as opposed to before when even with the low numbers it have hundreds of unsold returns each day. Under Sheriff, the Observer gave everyone a voice. Saja Taal on the other hand wrecked the company. He was a loser desperately trying to please someone above. Taal is an intellectual prostitute. He is a disgrace to Ph D holders. And I would not hesitate to show him the two fingers anytime I see him.


Freedom Newspaper: You were writing for the ALLGAMBIAN.NET, while working at the Observer as an editor. What was management's reaction to your action?


PK Jarju: Sheriff Bojang was the managing director at the time when I joined partnership with Bubacarr Ceesay who founded Allgambian. Sheriff never complained about my association with another newspaper. I think he only told me off once for reproducing a story on Allgambian about the arrest of Wally Hakim, who was arrested in connection with the murder of Deyda Hydara.


Things were opposite when Taal came in. Like all cannabis smokers, he was paranoid. He nearly gave me the sack after someone told him about my association with Allgambian, which at the time was giving him a real headache. Taal never trusted me. He was a ruthless NIA informer who never hesitated to report even his own members of staff to the Gestapo. A friend of mine at the agency once advised me to be mindful of Dr Taal. It would have been very foolish of me to have hanged around in the Gambia after quiting the Observer. I would definitely have been another Chief Manneh.


Freedom Newspaper: As a former Daily Observer editor, did you bother to find out who owns the paper? Did you gather any evidence linking President Jammeh to the paper's ownership?


PK Jarju: I was told by my employers that the paper was owned by Amadou Samba, which I naively believed. But after the appointment of Mam Sait Ceesay as Editor-in-Chief, he admitted to me that the paper was owned by Jammeh. In fact he said Jammeh was always moaning of the fact the Observer treat him worst than The Independent. I was also later privy of information that the company was indeed owned by Jammeh and that Amadou Samba was given power of attorney to negotiate and buy the company on behalf of Jammeh. Whether this true or not I don't know. Its all hear say.


Freedom Newspaper: What can you tell us about Mam Sait Ceesay? Did he like the AllGAMBIAN and the Freedom Newspaper?


PK Jarju: The Daily Observer was not the place for Mam Sait. The guy was too busy running his State House job and never had time for the paper. But I don't blame the guy. He was just following orders given to him by his boss. I had a good working relationship with him and I wish him the very best in his court case.


Allgambian was a torn in the flesh of Dr Taal and Mr Ceesay. The paper carried so many article that criticised the appointment and manner in which the two were running the paper. At the beginning, the duo started a war of words with Allgambian which quickly ended after realising that they were fighting a lost battle. Instead they tried to fish out the unknown insider who was said to be posting articles to Allgambian. Freedom Newspaper was then not established.


Freedom Newspaper: Where were you when Ceesay emailed the editors of the ALLGAMBIAN, accusing them of trying destabilise the Gambia? What necessitated the said letter? Any clues?


PK Jarju: It was not Mam Sait. It was Dr Taal. The harsh email was in respond to the paper's editorial policy as well as some of the articles the paper was writing about him and Mam Sait.


Freedom Newspaper: Who is Dida Halake?
PK Jarju: Here we go. Dida is a friend of mine. The geezer was an Ethiopian who fled to Kenya during the war. He attended school in Kenya and later came to the UK. Until his appointment as Observer's managing director, Mr Halake was teaching in Leeds, West Yorkshire. He is married to a Gambian wife with whom he has two children.


Freedom Newspaper: In your recent writings, you claimed that you were among the signatories to Dida Halake's will. What is the said will all about?


PK Jarju: I will have to respect my friend's privacy here. In as much as I disagree with him, it would be very improper for me to say what and what is in the will.


Freedom Newspaper: In your view, what must have compelled Dida Halake to issue the said will? Did Halake foresee any family infighting over his properties after his demise?


PK Jarju: I think the best person to answer that question is Mr Halake. He trusted me by letting me to be a co-signatory to his will and I will maintain that trust and respect.


Freedom Newspaper: In your view, is Dida Halaki, management material? Is he qualified for that job?


PK Jarju: Although am not in the Gambia but I can say for certain that the guy is doing a very good job. He is doing what he is employed to do which is to be a propaganda machinery to President Jammeh and the APRC party. Well, the guy is a very good pen pusher I will admit and he know what he is doing. He is of course more than qualified for the job. Have you forgotten that nowadays, one does not need any experience in journalism to become managing director or editor-in-chief of the Observer.


Freedom Newspaper: Do you consider Halake's appointment as a mistake on the side of the authorities?


PK Jarju: No. Jammeh wanted someone who will stand for him. He wanted someone who will never hesitate to have a go at his opponents and critics. And he has got that in Dida. Appointing Dida as Observer's managing director is also helping to convince Gambians that Jammeh is loved by even white beard people like Dida who have been residing in the UK even before I was born.


Freedom Newspaper: Was this the Dida Halake, you used to know in the UK?


PK Jarju: I knew Dida since I was at the Observer. He used to bring me articles, mostly book reviews for publication any time he visits the country. We use to drive round town in his Suzuki jeep. Rasta Garden was our favourite eating place. The Observer was like his second office. He only stop going there after been embarrassed by Lamin Kujabi, who had a go at his mum and dad in front of the type setters and reporters.


Freedom Newspaper: What do you make out of President Jammeh's claims that he lost one of his devils? Is the President mentally stable, in your own view?


PK Jarju: I don't think he is mad. Like I said in my recent article on this paper, the guy is blessed. He is blessed more than even Jesus Christ. Why do you think he prays more than 100 times a day? It is a way of thanking God for giving him special favours that were not given to any humankind. If Jammeh can make women in menopause to get pregnant, cure Aids, dine with devils and above all know things that will come to past ages in advance, then he could be telling the truth. Innit? So don't be surprise one day when you hear him saying he can make the cripple to walk, the dumb to talk, the deaf to hear as well as raise the dead from the grave.


Freedom Newspaper: What needs to be done restore sanity in The Gambia?


PK Jarju: Sanity would only prevail if the Gambian people take control of the affairs of the state. We have to be the commanders of our own destinies. We Gambians believe in Yallah bahna. God has always been good and He will continue to be good. We need to wake up and say enough is enough to the President and his regime. We should have a desire to be free and the instinct to oppose brutality and repression.

Gambians should forget nursing the dream that international organisations like the UN, the Commonwealth among others will solve our problems for us. While they can influence the process, it is left to us to take the leading role as the country is ours. We are the only people who can stop this political madness. We are a talk and do nation and those who can talk must talk while does who can do must do anything within their powers to ensure the full restoration of democracy and human rights in the country.


Freedom Newspaper: Any last words, Mr. Jarju?


PK Jarju: Yes. May Allah, the ever merciful and ever gracious Lord end our sufferings and oppression.


Freedom Newspaper: Thanks, Mr. Jarju for granting us this interview. Have a great day.

PK Jarju: Its my pleasure. Assalam Walaikum.