Gambian Sports Minister Mass Axi Gai Calls Threat Allegations to Journalist Ebou Manneh, “Ridiculous” & “Malicious” Reporter Ebou Manneh & Pap Saine Weight in This Echo Exclusive

By Ebrima G. Sankareh, Editor-In-Chief

It all began with a simple phone call in the early hours of Thursday morning, June 19, 2008 when our lead Banjul reporter Kissy Kissy Mansa asked that we call back instantly. When we returned the call Kissy had just finished compiling notes on very serious allegations that among other things, Gambia’s recently appointed Sports Minister, Mass Axi Gai had allegedly threatened to take the life of a sports journalist with the independent daily, The Point Newspaper. According to our sources, The Point’s Sports reporter Ebou Manneh had written an investigative story on the debacle that witnessed the hiring of a Belgian national to train The Gambia National Soccer Team much to the consternation of the team’s Assistant Coach, Peter Bonu Johnson, who tendered his resignation a little later. According to our competent sources, Secretary of State Gai called Manneh on his mobile phone on Wednesday 18 June 2008 threatening to “kill him if he does not desist from writing critical articles concerning the crisis surrounding the appointment of the new foreign coach- Mr. Paul Put to man the national football team.”

Our sources said Sports Journalist Manneh’s biting article had dealt exhaustively with the rifts between The Gambia Football Association (GFA) and the Department of State for Youth and Sports fuelled further by the appointment of a new couch- Mr. Paul Put a Belgian national. Reveal our highly placed sources, Secretary of State Gai was prompted after receiving a call from a senior official of The Point Newspaper who had out of respect, a sense of professionalism and diligence called Mr. Gai only to verify the authenticity of some potentially damaging information Manneh had brought before his editorial desk. No sooner had the Secretary of State for Sports finished listening to the piece, than he allegedly rang up Manneh’s mobile phone and went on the rampage threatening to kill him if he should proceed in writing such articles.

At the heart of Ebou Manneh’s narrative report our sources, is the painful fact that the appointment of the Belgian national over Johnson did not go well with most members of The Gambia Football Association (GFA) who are not in agreement with the Department of State for Sports on the matter. If anything, Johnson is a national hero who had sacrificed his entire youth and life playing for The Gambia National Team, but like most things Gambian, the prophets are never honoured at home.

Based on these serious allegations, allegedly communicated by a Cabinet Minister in a regime noted for its extra-judicial activities, and in tandem with journalistic ethics of fairness and a commitment to balance, this reporter interviewed the trio- The Point’s Managing Editor Saine, Sports reporter Ebou Manneh and Youth & Sports Minister Mass Axi Gai. 

Pap Saine’s Version of Events

Reuters West Africa Dean, Pap Saine

According to Pap Saine, Ebou Manneh had written a story captioned: “Does Lang Tombong Tamba Run the Department of State for Youth & Sports?” and then in it, reveals Editor Saine, Manneh praised Chief of Defense Staff Tombong Tamba in glowing terms, claiming that Tamba in fact, uses his personal money to assist the footballers. Says Saine; the article also alleged that the football team was for the first time in recent memory to travel on Gheleghele- an ugly, rusty mechanical beast with dangling ropes and rough metal bars, with up to two apprentices hanging behind its boot dressed in tattered mechanic’s attire and usually have a reputation of rudeness with a latitude of freedom to use vulgar language. After closely examining this story, I called Manneh to my desk and asked him, if we were sued whether he would have the evidence. Manneh’s answer according to Saine was shaky and Saine then suggested that if he had interviewed one of the players then, he could volunteer his name just for the records or if the new Belgian coach had told him about the Gheleghele, then fair enough, they could quote him as a senior official of The Gambia Football Association (GFA). According to Saine, Manneh could not corroborate his allegations and given the circumstances, I cannot allow such grave allegations to slip pass me. I then simply suggested that the Gheleghele allegation be deleted unless if we could lay hands on some solid evidence that it was meant to be, said Saine. According to Saine, he had also admonished Manneh to know that as journalists we do not hire or fire Ministers, that that was within the purview of the President; that our responsibility was always to report accurately.

Asked to comment on information we received, that he Saine was favoring the Sports Minister over his reporter, Saine had this to say. “Sankareh you know me very well and you may be interested to know that Ebou Manneh is like my own biological son; he is the son to the late Momodou Manneh, a Gambian journalist who passed away in the UK. Following his father’s demise, I took up responsibility to bring him up until he graduated from Muslim high school. I then hired him and registered him with the Alliance Français School where he is studying to improve his computer skills etc. So how can I be so mean to my own son he asked? “As for Mass Axi Gai”, adds Saine, “I cannot say anything because I cannot be his spokesperson and since you are a newspaper editor, I would advise that you interview him yourself, so that you can hear his own version and then also, interview my son, boy Manneh.”

Asked whether he called Gai and read him the Ghelelele story over the phone, Saine said that was totally inaccurate. Gai himself called me because for the past month, he and Manneh were having some misunderstanding about some previous articles Manneh wrote about his Department. So as all responsible editors would do, I seized the opportunity to verify the Gheleghele story and the alleged animosity between the Dept. and the GFA. This is what happened and the Minister complained to me that some people are using this young man to unseat me but I will call him to fix the matter.

Sports Reporter Ebou Manneh’s Version of Events

No sooner had I hung up with Editor Saine, than I rang up Ebou Manneh’s mobile phone. I identified myself and explained my mission, “to hear from the horse’s mouth the allegation that Gambia’s Sports Minister Mass Axi Gai had threatened to kill you.” Manneh replied that he was watching a football game and asked that I call back later. “Please… my brother, this is a very important matter, it is alleged that a state Minister has threatened to take your life, how do you compare that with a football game?” I replied. Manneh then began to realize the scale of the issue at hand and proceeded to volunteer information. He praised Pap Saine as a good parent who is always out to make him a better person. I have no hard feelings against Mr. Saine; if anything, I have the highest respect for him and his family and you can verify that with him, Manneh assured me. I then explained that Pap Saine had already alluded to their amicable family ties and I just wanted to get to brass tasks. “So what is the problem with Minister Gai, I posed?”

According to Manneh, Mr.Gai had called him asking to stay away from troublemakers who are bent on using his skills as a journalist to settle personal matters; he called my mobile phone and was rather angry during our conversation. The Minister threatened me that he will kill me if I do not desist from writing negative things about him, because he is older than me and has worked for the country all his life, that he never expected to be a Minister at this stage but President Jammeh was so kind to appoint him for which he felt honoured.” Asked what he told the Minister in response to the threat allegation, Manneh said, “I told him that he could not kill me and besides, killing is too serious a matter for us to talk about on a phone.” Supposed you go to a court of law, are you in a position to substantiate the allegation that the minister threatened to kill you, that’s a pretty serious allegation you know? Yes, Mr. Sankareh, I have used my mobile recorder and I have the minister on tape” he assured. What is going on now, what are you going to do about this situation-are you scared? My father’s brother, one of my uncles had spoken to me and we have decided to bury the hatchet.” I then wished Ebou Manneh well and thanked him for granting us an interview. I then promised to contact Minister Gai to hear his own version and we hung up.

Minister Mass Axi Gai’s Version of Events

Sports Minister, Mass Axi Gai

The phone rang only once and the voice of Youth and Sports Minister Mass Axi Gai came on and so I said “Ebrima G. Sankareh here, for The Gambia Echo Newspaper, Mr. Gai good afternoon Sir.” Yes Sankareh how are you he asked? “Fine thank you and I hope you remember me I enquired?” “Yes, sir, very well he assured me.” I then explained my mission to know exactly what transpired between him and journalist Ebou Manneh. According to Gai, he had called Pap Saine at The Point to lodge a complaint about the manner Manneh has been writing about him, his office and Department vis-à-vis the negative connotations of his articles. That he had in fact, two weeks ago, called Manneh’s uncle, Alhagi Ebrima Manneh, erstwhile Permanent Secretary in the Jawara government so that he could admonish Ebou Manneh to treat him fairly. According to Gai, journalist Ebou Manneh’s late father and him worked together at Mass Sosseh’s Football Club and he was like a brother and the reporter is like his own son. So why would such a person allow himself to be manipulated by others to always negatively come on me he asked rhetorically? But Mr. Minister there is this very serious allegation that you have actually threatened his life- that you may kill him? “Sankareh that is ridiculous and also very malicious on the part of any journalist to say that I threatened to kill Ebou Manneh that is simply non-sense. In The Gambia, killing is not part of our discourse, the language to kill is not Gambian and my friend you know that, so how can I threaten to kill this boy? –Ridiculous!” he said. So you did not threaten to kill Ebou Manneh? I am telling you that the allegation is totally false, ridiculous and very suspicious, in fact a guy called me this afternoon from Accra, Ghana from a human rights organization asking me the same question that he read in the papers that I intend to kill a sports journalist” Or really, I asked? “Yes, but in the end he knew that it was all lies to smear my reputation.” What is this bad blood between the GFA and your office? Totally false, the GFA and my office are very cooperative; there is no bad blood as alleged Gai said.

Threat to Sue The Point If…

According to Minister Gai, President Jammeh has invested enormous funds and resources to change the soccer landscape in the West African state and today, Gambian soccer talents are recognized globally. As state Minister, I have been sending our boys to different countries mostly on the president’s own money and in the Algeria trip; both President Jammeh and Africell have contributed enormous funds to get us victory. Two years ago, the president gave us a 25-seater van to transport the boys and whenever we need extra buses, we use our resources to hire private ones. So to suggest that we were to leave on a gheleghele with all the resources at our disposal was calculated to tarnish our image and I bet you, The Point Newspaper would have regretted it had they proceeded with the gheleghele story. A libel suit against the paper in the high court could not have been averted had the story been published and I am very serious about this, we would have sued The Point because the story was purely malicious.

If the boys were not going to use gheleghele how come they did not take off from Banjul International Airport with all your alleged resources, I posed?