Dr. Ousman Gajigo, Economist formerly with ADB
By Dr. Ousman Gajigo
It is now several weeks since President Adama Barrow filed a defamation lawsuit against the Voice Newspaper. Upon closerexamination and after speaking to few legal experts, this case seems to be a classic example of a frivolous lawsuit. And it is not difficult to show this.
Let’s recap what transpired. On 23rd September 2024, the Voice Newspaper published a story where it claimed through an anonymous source that President Adama Barrow is considering Muhammed Jah as his successor. In that article, high ranking NPP officials were given the opportunity to weigh in on the claim. Within a few days, the Voice Newspaper received a letter from the president’s lawyer demanding an apology and a retraction. When the Voice Newspaper refused, the president’s lawyer sued for defamation. This was shortly followed by the opening of a criminal case by relying on a Yahya Jammeh-era law designed to limit press freedom.
The reporting of political intrigue and possible successions is a standard political coverage by the press. It is preposterous that the mere reporting on the possibility of the President deciding on a successor is considered defamatory. Even if it can be proven that the story is false in that the President did not consider choosing Muhammed Jah as a successor, it is at worst an unfounded rumor. There is nothing libelous about it. It certainly does nothing to damage Adama Barrow’s reputation.
Besides, this issue involves the press reporting on an issue, which has valid “qualified privilege” defense. The issue of potential successor to Adama Barrow is a matter of public interest. The identity of a potential presidential candidate is a matter worth reporting on since the presidency is arguably the most consequential position in the country. Therefore, the public interest angle is undeniable. Indeed, it would be an abdication of responsibility for any newspaper or journalist to fail to report on such a story as long as standard journalistic practices are adhered to.
I have very little doubt that both the criminal and civil cases have no merit. This begs the question of why these cases are being pursued against the Voice Newspaper and its journalists. The answer is as obvious as the practice is commonplace. These types of lawsuits are known generally as SLAPP, which stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. These are lawsuits that are filed by powerful individuals or interest groups to shield themselves against justified scrutiny.
Entities that file such lawsuits are perfectly aware that such lawsuits are meritless. But they know that subjecting an individual to a lawsuit is immensely costly in numerous ways. Facing a lawsuit can be financially ruinous, time-consuming and psychologically stressful. The very act of responding to these lawsuits can cause these groups that are engaged in valuable public service to temporarily cease their activities. That disruption effectively accomplishes the dubious goals of the plaintiffs. In other words, the legal case is simply a strategy to shield themselves from scrutiny by abusing the judicial process.It also has the effect of not only hobbling the targeted individual or group but also intimidating others.
The biggest culprits behind such lawsuits around the world are, understandably, unscrupulous politicians and businesses that are afraid of their actions being scrutinized. They usually have something to hide. The targets are usually journalists and activists who are performing vital public services.
Let’s be clear about one thing. Defamation laws are important and serve a useful purpose in society. A person’s reputation is an important asset and a cornerstone of trust, and therefore a foundation of their social capital. Therefore, a mechanism that allows individuals the means to safeguard such an asset is valuable. But like many good things, it can be abused. The president’s civil case against the Voice Newspaper is a perfect example of that abuse. It is designed to intimidate and frustrate the newspaper into silence rather than to genuinely protect a reputation from harm.
In case anyone still has a doubt about whether the President’s civil case against the Voice Newspaper is meritless, the opening of the criminal case by the IGP should remove all doubts. At least with the civil case alone, there may have been room to argue that Adama Barrow’s assumption of the presidency does not necessarily deprive him of rights, and therefore he should also have the opportunity to safeguard his reputation. And thatthe filing of the civil case affords him that opportunity to pursue justice, and if the Voice Newspaper were indeed wrong under the laws of the country, justice would be carried out in a venue and in a manner where the power disparity between the President and an ordinary citizen is minimized.
But the opening of the criminal case by the IGP lets the proverbial cat out of the bag, so to speak. It reveals that the goal is to punish the Voice Newspaper, not by following the law but irrespective of what the law decides. Like any regular citizen, I cannot say with certainty that the Office of the President directed the IGP to open the criminal case since I have no inside information. But to pretend that the IGP’s action is not being done with tacit approval of the Statehouse would be extreme naivety or being willfully obtuse.
The persecution of the Voice Newspaper is a blight on the legal landscape of the country and a clear confirmation that the transition from dictatorship to democracy is long derailed. What is tragic, but in a way quite fitting, is that the biggest cheerleader of the president in this unfortunate act is Seedy Njie. More than any individual, the presence of Seedy Njie in the government today is the perfect embodiment of aborted transition.
For the president and his supporters to claim that no journalists have been imprisoned under his leadership is laughable. The key here is the goal of actions. Imprisonment of journalists under a dictatorship is meant to silence and intimidate the press. Persecution of journalists under a democracy can still serve the same purpose of silencing and intimidating them even if they are not yet immediately imprisoned.
If the judicial process unfolds as it should, these cases against the Voice Newspaper should be thrown out. This should be anyone’s expectation, including that of the President. In the eventuality that the president’s drops the civil case and IGP declines to press the criminal case, no one should be tempted to treat those decisions as magnanimity. It is not. We should be reflecting on why the unfortunate act of persecuting journalists got underway in the first place by a regime that should have been transitioning the country away from such acts.