Former GPU Presidents Warn Against "Regression" in Media Regulation Laws in The Gambia

Banjul - Former presidents of the Gambia Press Union (GPU) have issued a joint statement condemning two newly proposed media policies, warning that the government’s move toward "permission-based journalism" threatens to resurrect the censorship mechanisms of the Jammeh dictatorship era.

The veteran journalists, including Demba A. Jawo and Ndey Tapha Sosseh, expressed concern over the draft National Press Accreditation Policy and the Broadcasting and Online Content Regulations, 2025.

While the government frames the measures as administrative reforms, the former GPU leaders argue they introduce state-controlled registration and security vetting that undermine the constitutional right to a free press.

"We write as journalists who stood firm when the cost of speaking out was harassment, intimidation, exile, imprisonment and, for our fallen colleague, friend and former GPU president Deyda Hydara, death itself," the group stated.

The signatories questioned the necessity of the new regulations, pointing out that the media in The Gambia is already self-regulated through the Media Council of The Gambia.

They argued that the Ministry of Information’s attempt to create parallel State committees risks politicising the profession and eroding the independence gained since the country's democratic transition in 2017.

"History teaches us that such measures are never neutral. This is not reform. It is regression," the statement continued, adding that the new policies echo the gradual architecture of control used during the era of former President Yahya Jammeh to silence dissent.

The GPU former presidents invoked the legacy of Deyda Hydara, the co-founder of The Point newspaper who was assassinated in 2004, quoting his warning that "once the State decides who qualifies as a journalist, freedom of the press is already lost."

The group called on current journalists, civil society organizations, and international partners, including the International Federation of Journalists and the Media Foundation for West Africa, to resist the proposals.

They said press freedom is not a professional privilege but a public right essential for holding power to account.

"To the young journalists of The Gambia: the freedoms you enjoy today were hard-won. They were secured through sacrifice, courage, and, in some cases, blood. Do not assume they are permanent," the leaders warned.

The friction in The Gambia represents a critical test for one of West Africa’s arguably most improved media landscapes.

Since the fall of the Jammeh administration in 2017, The Gambia has risen in global press freedom rankings.

Central to this progress was the shift toward co-regulation and self-regulation, where the Gambia Press Union established an independent Media Council to adjudicate ethics complaints without government interference.

The 2025 draft policies marked a pivot back toward statutory regulation. Under international human rights standards, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, mandatory licensing of journalists by government-appointed bodies is generally considered a violation of freedom of expression.

Critics argue that accreditation is frequently used by restrictive governments as a tool to bar critical reporters from state functions or to revoke their right to practice under the guise of national security.