Babucarr Manka, a cameraman working for a Gambian online television call Eye Africa, has been reportedly attacked by the militarized wing of the Gambian police.
The attack which was widely condemned by activists and journalists as an attack on press freedom happened on Sunday afternoon.
The journalist, wounded after a slap on the face by an unidentified policeman, was covering a meeting of the Gambian teachers at the Abuko Upper Basic School in the Kanifing Municipality.
The teachers who call themselves “Teachers for Change” are on a sit-down strike as they call on government to improve their welfare.
The Gambia Press Union had earlier issued a statement against maltreatments meted out at their colleague by the police and advocated for the welfare and safety of the journalist.
The GPU executive is yet to issue a statement on the issue as they are currently investigating the incident. The president told Sheriff Bojang has called Lamin Kanteh, the owner of Eye Africa and obtain some information from him.
The Union said on their Facebook page that:
The Gambia Press Union has just been informed that a journalist who serves as cameraman for Eye Africa online TV was earlier this afternoon assaulted by a member of the Police Intervention Unit while he was filming a meeting organized by a group of disgruntled teachers in Abuko.
We want to assure our colleagues that the GPU is following this case and will communicate its reaction/intervention as soon as we speak to the concerned journalist and his employer who witnessed the incident. The safety of every Gambian journalist is our most important priority and we will always strive as a union to safeguard that.
Comments are closed.