Foroyaa reporters have been following a number of cases in court which are reported to have originated from petitions addressed to the President. Some of these petitioners have even been remanded in custody.

Mr President .we have been informed that you have established a Commission of Inquiry to look into the unlawful allocation of land. We wanted to refer the relatives of a man resident in Serrekunda who came to our office to seek advice. We searched for the Gazette to find out whether the Commission you have established is in force but could not see any publication to that effect. We are now in a limbo and do not know what to say to this enlightened young man who wants his relatives to stay away from conflict and seek the protection of the law.

Many people have been asking Foroyaa whether a public servant could be dismissed for refusing to go and work on a farm owned by high ranking state officials or their institutions.

Foroyaa has maintained that African countries cannot break away from the past until they create an environment which will enable all citizens of a Nation to take part in a debate on how to build a new Nation entirely different from the past, irrespective of party affiliation. This should then be followed by a free and fair election where the enlightened people would be free from all inducement and intimidation and would be fully prepared to make an informed choice of who to give their consent to manage the affairs of a country.

The Foroyaa reporter sat in a Court in the rural area to wait for the proceedings to start. One of the parties to the case came with 21 witnesses at a cost of 1260 dalasis as transport cost. The prosecution did not come with the file to Court and the case could not proceed. The next sitting is scheduled for 29 September 2010.They will have to spend 1260 dalasis again to come to Court.

Newspapers are becoming more and more instruments for reporting on workshops and court proceedings. Very few newspapers are engaged in investigative journalism. Foroyaa however is not an ordinary media establishment. It was established during the first Republic to provide a medium for the alternative or critical voice. This is why it has to engage in investigative journalism.

The Presidential tour dubbed the ‘dialogue with the people tour’ is now over. Two slogans are now part of the Gambian political vocabulary. One originated from the first Republic and the second was coined during the recent tour of the President. Many middle aged Gambians could remember the slogan which featured in every rally held during the immediate post 1981 coup era. “Ning i Mang Ku Keh Ku Te La,” meaning (if you have done nothing, nothing will happen to you). That was the first Republic.

The Foroyaa Editorial of 18 - 19 August was a bit controversial because of the Heading, “Has the President Pardoned Prisoners AS Announced?” Foroyaa only raised questions. The whole morning of the 18th was spent waiting for promises from the Office of the President to get the Press Release which was the only authentic source. Unfortunately it was not received until we went to press. The Editorial was published in good faith and it was designed to get the state to clear the air on the information that is circulating. The Ministry of the Interior wrote to Foroyaa to question the rationale of publishing such an Editorial since the act of pardoning convicted criminals is one of “magnanimity that is nurtured and dispensed by the appreciation of the need for people incarcerated to be given the requisite opportunities and impetus to redeem themselves and consequently to judiciously contribute to the developmental aspirations of their respective countries.”

When the six journalists were pardoned they were visited by the Minister of Interior and the whole encounter was broadcast over GRTS. Foroyaa calls on the state to adopt the same procedures with all other prisoners who are pardoned.

The laying of the stone for the construction of a new National Assembly complex was made to coincide with the final meeting of the president scheduled for his dialogue with the people tour. The Banjul meeting was devoted extensively on the issue of human rights and democracy. President Jammeh spared no effort in exposing the deficits in liberty and development which existed during the colonial period and remarked that the former colonial master is not competent to give lectures on human rights and democracy.