GAMWRITERS

By Ahmed Alota and Demba Jawo

Gunmen who are still at large killed the late Deyda Hydara, a Gambian journalist and publisher of The Point newspaper, in a drive-by shooting on the night of Thursday, 16 December 2004.

In this very readable and absorbing account of his life, beliefs and achievements, two journalist colleagues who worked closely with the late Deyda Hydara provide an invaluable and well researched book for all those interested in contemporary African affairs, and in the struggle of the modern African press especially in their pursuit of the right to freedom of expression and in the fight against corruption, tyranny and for human progress.

Here, we are able to follow Deyda Hydara’s progress from the time he first entered a classroom in colonial Gambia, to the day his formal schooling came to a premature end when he lost his sponsor as he pursued a degree programme at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal, formerly Universite de Dakar.

Despite the temporary setback, the book attests to Deyda Hydara’s courage and determination to struggle through adversity, to become a most popular bilingual broadcaster by 1974 (even though he stammered, except when speaking on radio!).

We see Deyda Hydara as a husband and father, an enterprising newspaper editor and a promoter of good cause, going in aid of the mental wing of the psychiatric hospital, and the fencing of the Old Jeshwang Cemetery, as well as a leader who successfully led the Gambia Press Union out of its relative obscurity into a respectable representative body on the rights of journalists.

He lost his life when the fight for press freedom, which he courageously led despite treats to his life, was at its height in the Gambia. His death plunged the country into a mood of despondency and the media community into a profound shock from which it has yet to recover fully.

This book is a fitting memorial to an enlightened humanist and a professional journalist who is already an inspiration top both present-day practitioners, and to all aspiring journalists everywhere. In this respect, the authors have done an excellent job in providing here a well-rounded account of the late Deyda Hydara’s life and its tragic end.

The authors are donating proceeds from the book to the Deyda Hydara Trust in furtherance of its mission to foster press freedom, good governance and sustainable economic development across Africa.

Source: www.deydahydara.com