Dear Editor,
We find your report on Yahya Dampha disappointing and disturbing because it
is factually incorrect. While the MFWA continues to work for the safety of
persecuted journalists from The Gambia and elsewhere, we have not directly
been involved or assisted Mr. Dampha in moving from anywhere to Ghana or any
other country.
We would like to request the Freedom Newspaper to strive to be accurate.
Such erroneous publications do harm to the work to defend victims of rights
abuses. Misrepresentations of this kind rather aid the repressive machinery
of governments like President Yahya Jammeh's in The Gambia.
If the Freedom Newspaper wants to support the fight for freedom in The
Gambia it must first insist on the truth at all times.
We kindly request you to disseminate the correction as widely as you have
circulated the false report.
Prof. Kwame Karikari
Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)
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Editors note: We deeply regret for any discomfort the said story might have caused to your organization and other parties involved. Our source mistaken Yahya Dampha with Pa Ousman Darboe. It was Mr. Darboe who arrived in New York and not Yahya Dampha. To err is human and we therefore apologize for any discomfort caused by the said story.
The Freedom Newspaper is committed in reporting the truth and nothing but the truth. We strongly disagree with your erroneous perception about the Freedom Newspaper. This paper will never depart from its mission statement.
The said story was reported in good faith without malice or ill-will. Our patriotism and commitment towards Gambia’s liberation cannot be questioned because we always adhered to the highest ethics of journalism.
The case of a mistaken identity, is not sufficient ground to chastise us. We stood by our sources. It was the Media Foundation who helped Ousman Darboe to settle into the United States. We said this without any remorse.
Based on the information we gathered, Yahya Dampha is said to be in Sweden and not in the US.
We have high regard for professor Karikari, but the truth be told this statement is least to be desired. We have not committed any crime to warrant such misjudgments and misleading conclusions.
You demanded a retraction for the story, without telling us the true side of the story. If you want to correct us, you need to report the true side of the story. When you sent in rejoinders, you need back up your assertions with factual arguments and not mere insinuations.
The media should be accountable to the public at all times. What’s wrong with reporting the resettlement of Yahya Dampha or Ousman Darboe? What threat have we committed by exposing the story? Are these people for real?
Finally, we want to assure the Media Foundation that the Freedom Newspaper is committed in Gambia’s liberation. This paper is here for all and sundry. No outside party can dictate to us how to run the Freedom Newspaper. Thanks for your attention.