Until this congress, the wonder has been why Ousainou Darboe has not waded into the growing uncertainty within the United Democratic Party. The wonder has been why the UDP leader was silent at a time when everyone in the party appears to be suspicious of everyone. Well, those feelings must now have come as a little silly after the man’s Friday speech.

The United Democratic Party this weekend organized a three-day congress where delegates numbering 1,060 picked a new set of leaders. It was a gathering that formed a key part of the party’s internal democratic activities.

Somehow, it was historic. For the first time, UDP went into such a gathering with so much freedom. For the first time, the party went into such a congress with so many of its members who are members of the national assembly. And for the first time, the party went into such a congress with the classing, ‘the country’s biggest political party.’

But this was a congress that came when misgiving continued to eat away at the back of UDP. Mainstream members have been accusing President Adama Barrow of making wanton moves on their party. Party top-shots might have been everywhere playing it down but it did not seem unreasonable to anticipate Darboe would at some point grow a pair and address the issue. And then the time and the place came.

At the official opening of the congress, Darboe was supposed to stick to his speech that was prepared for him. He wanted to but couldn’t. That is what happens when the most important of issues are missing in your speech. And so, as we saw, he went off-script every now and then delivering the sort of speech only likely to go down deep into the unknown future.

“Anyone who doubts that President Barrow is the President of The Gambia, that person is insane and anyone who doubts that Ousainou Darboe is the leader of UDP, that person is also insane,” Mr Darboe said at one point.

In another, he said: “I am not desperate to be the president of The Gambia but any person of whatever description, of whatever station in life who attempts to divide the UDP I will take on you headlong. I will fight you to prevent that. That is my mission.”

These comments bordered on bravado, and one must be living under a rock to not know who they were directed at. And if there were any doubts at all about who is the man on the tree when it comes to UDP, those doubts were cleared at this congress. It’s proof of how alive Darboe yet is within UDP.

Certainly, this congress has come off as a huge blow for President Barrow. This was a platform meant to sell a man who in fact owes his political life to its organizer, UDP. Instead all what President Barrow’s backers got at the event was humiliation. This not-so-smart president is in serious political trouble.

This was not supposed to turn out like this. Back in 2017, a certain newly elected President was unequivocal when asked if he will stay true to his word relative to the 3 years deal under which he was endorsed by coalition 2016. That leader said he will leave after only three years. That was President Adama Barrow.

And then President Barrow got confused along the way. Darboe is one of those people who contributed to this when he said he will take legal action against anyone who attempts to make Barrow step down after the three-year transition. Marabouts too. I understand he’s been told the person who will take power after him will be younger than him.

President Barrow believes this. It’s something that makes him feel the only man who he’s losing sleep over, Darboe, is disqualified. And so this is why President Barrow is growing his ambition, his hope. And so this is why these days, telling President Barrow to step aside after three years or even after five years appears to be a crime against nature.

Yet, how President Barrow navigates his political fate after all this is his affair. Because if this was a bad period for him, it was a good period for politics in The Gambia. It has breathed more excitement into our politics at a time when there’s so much at stake.

The Point was not on point. Two girls, raped and sexually molested, were in the pages of the newspaper. This breach was gross – ethically and legally. The country was shocked. The doubting Thomases of the new-found press freedom shout from mountain tops: untrained and uneducatedbunch they are butka journaliso butongo lo. Those sitting on the fence have jumped on their side. Supporters of the press are reconsidering their position: well, I’m a believer of press freedom but how could they do that. Oh, no.

A born again: welcome to Africa’s newest democracy. Here, to err wasn’t journalism. Now it is. This time, the culprit is an unlikely villain.Dawda Faye, the file man. Seasoned.A specialist. Get to know him better than that: he carries more than two decades of experience in reporting courts in the file he carries. Enviably professional, he arrives at the court before the cleaners. His reporting style is simple and matter-of-factly: just write as the court says or does. No colouring, just a bit of sand-papering.  He has authored two books being used in schools, including University of The Gambia. He has mentored the country’s finest journalists. The editor, Bekai Njie, belongs to a prestigious club of few journalists with a degree in the practice. The newspaper, The Point, is the country’s first of its kind and continues to lead.

When bad story comes from good journalists, what do you call that?

Is it a honeymoon or a democratic culture?

In spite of their professional pedigree, The Point and Dawda are not innocent. When you publish errors like this: ‘…car raising’, instead of ‘car racing’ in screaming headlines, that’s horrible. When you write a headline ‘Nigerian rapes…’, instead of a ‘man rapes’, that’s called sensational journalism. When you publish the names of underage sex abuse victims and describe the graphic nature of it, that’s reckless.

The Point is not alone. The Voice often makes mistakes, of grammar and facts. The Daily News and Foroyaa could do way better than they’re currently doing in cleaning up the copy. The Standard run corrections more times than acceptable from that paper. Sarjo Barrow and Pa Ndery Touray of Star FM are pushing the boundaries of objectivity in journalism.

No dispute here. There’s freedom and boom in the media after the dictatorship. Where there was only one television outlet, now there are several. Where online media used to operate from abroad, now greater number of them are on the ground and produce more verifiable editorial content. Where music used to dominate the air, now there’s information overload in radio broadcasts. Where laws dangle over heads, now they are asleep. Where mistakes are few and costly, now there are many and excusable.

Fortunately, the honeymoon may not be over, after all. Or, is it really a honeymoon or a genuine, lasting embrace of the values of press freedom? Time will tell. For now though, abominable mistakes are being accepted as part of the noise that comes with democracy.

Dawda and The Point could have been charged to court. If convicted, jail is likely. They haven’t and are unlikely to face criminal indictment. Instead, on social media and through official requests, the GPU has been called upon to act; and whip The Point on the Front Page. Press freedom cannot be any better when people recognise and appreciate the democratic norm that the press should regulate the press through moral sanctions. The government should stay far off.

The struggle against government regulation

The Gambia media had stood against repeated attempts by previous governments to regulate the media.The price paid was expensive. The question has never been whether the press should be regulated.Rather, it has been how the press should or ought to be regulated. There were deep divisions. There still are those divisions, although smaller. It is not only a matter of media vs government. It is also about conflicting views within media and within government.

In 2016, the GPU made an important first step towards establishing ethical standards by launching an industry-wide code of conduct. The code provides guidelines and ethical standards for all categories of news media journalists – print, radio, television and online. In 2017, the Union embarked on a nation-wide campaign – each media practitioner a copy – to popularise the code.

What has been missing is a body that will monitor compliance and enforcement of the code. A best practice visit in Ghana followed. A good amount of literature has been reviewed and more than ten experts consulted, from Norway to South Africa, from Ghana to Kenya, from Denmark to Zimbabwe, from UK to Australia. Consultations continue. From last week when the media reforms committee – a technical group co-chaired by GPU and Ministry of Information – scrutinised the founding documents, to this week when journalists, media owners and the members of the public will debate the issues, the Gambian model being developed will take into account international standards and Gambian characteristics.

Media Council of The Gambia

Few things are becoming clearer about what is proposed to be called Media Council of The Gambia. The Council, with a guaranteed independence, would be a non-statutory body, but it would be recognised by the state and will have legal underpinnings. Besides having a multi-stakeholder representation,it would regulate content across all media platforms – print, online, radio and television, and also state and private.

The fears about this model of media self-regulation are a matter of genuine concern. Would the Media Council have a tooth to bite without a legal framework and without a court-like order? What happens if an offending journalist refuses to comply with either the decision or the process?

Self-regulation works. It is the most prominent and common media regulation system in the world.The system is fair, fast and free. But one thing is clear: it is up to the media to make it work. The how of it is obvious: total submission to upholding the standards the media set for itself.

Journalists are no gods

Until few weeks ago, the power of moral sanctions has not been properly tested.Then, The Point newspaper published the names of sex abuse victims. Such media conduct is not only immoral, it is also seems to have violated a number of laws, including the Children’s Act, the Women’s Act and Sexual Offences Act.

However, The Pointhas refused calls to correct the story or apologise in an appropriate manner. It has also refused legitimate calls to pull down the story from its website. The Union’s press release, condemning the conduct, was trashed in the trash bin by most major media outlets.Some journalists even went further to call out the Union for publishing the condemnation. To them, the right thing to do was for the Union to visit the offices of The Point, and plead with them to put up an apology.

Journalists are no gods.The media make mistakes. Accountability of the media is an important hallmark of responsible journalism. The ethics of the profession require a journalist to swiftly correct a wrong-doing and apologise in an appropriate manner.

A Council in honour of Deyda Hydara

The Point’s refusal to appropriately apologise and swiftly pull down the story, and the refusal of some media outlets to publish the condemnation appear to send a clear message that the Gambia media has coalesced to show solidarity with an unethical conduct that is criminally indictable, rather than defend professional standards.

However, even as The Gambia media failed this first test, that doesn’t meanthat,there shouldn’t be a second chanceor a third chance or more chances. As we nurture our democracy, we are constantly reminded that we rather err on the side of democracy than err on the side of repression. But ultimately, the media cannot eat its cake and have it. The media have to make a choice: to embrace self-regulation or invite the state to come in with force.

In a democracy, where press freedom is valued, the choice is never mistaken. On December 23, therefore, in marking the 14^thanniversary of the murder of Deyda Hydara, the GPU would launch the Media Council of The Gambia. There cannot be a more fitting way of honouring a former GPU president who paid the highest price in the defence of press freedom. Deyda stood strongly against the former government’s regulation of the media. Now he welcomes in his sleep the baby he anticipated. May His Soul Continue to Rest in Peace!

The author, Saikou Jammeh, is the Secretary General of The Gambia Press Union.

Self-belief. Self-belief. SELF-BELIEF. That’s the answer I got when I asked one political analyst friend about the one thing that makes a leader successful. There wasn’t any hum and haw in his answer. It left me thinking if self-belief is such a major requirement, President Barrow has a bag that’s almost full with it.

Last Sunday was just another day in office for President Adama Barrow. He met with the people of West Coast Region where he looked rampant in terms of self-belief, in terms of confidence. At this meeting, it was the president’s assertion that any prospect of him seeking a second term will depend on what he’s been able to achieve. His comments gave indication he has his one eye set on staying in office a little longer. Could even be his two eyes.

Sunday came right after the President’s trip to Senegal. This trip has been a huge success for him personally. The president managed to kill one bird with two stones as he himself would say. He participated in the two-day Liberal International forum. He also attended his ‘brother’ Macky Sall’s investiture by Beno Bok Yakaar, the Senegalese president’s grand coalition of political parties. But it’s the latter activity that has particularly jolted President Barrow.

I was in Dakar to cover the Beno Bok Yakaar event. Thousands of Senegalese converged on a sport facility in Diamniadio to endorse President Macky Sall as their candidate in the upcoming elections in Senegal. And while I knew President Barrow was in Senegal, it was a surprise to me when someone informed me he will be coming to the event. And come he did.

Somehow, this event boosted his confidence as a leader even if it wasn’t part of the deal that saw Gambian taxpayers dispatch him to Senegal. It was a learning curve for him. And a major part that was of special engrossment to the president, to my mind, was the screening of a 20-minute documentary. This documentary was about President Macky Sall’s major accomplishments as he seeks reelection. I was in the press section listening, where I also tried to compute President Barrow’s broad review of it.

What does he make of this documentary on a man he calls his brother? Is he inspired? Will he try to emulate Macky Sall as a way of winning the hearts and minds of his people? These were some questions that ran through my mind. I even wanted to approach him for an ambush interview, something I knew I wasn’t going to get. In fact the only time I came close to him was when his motorcade taxied to a fleeting halt right next to my car as it they tried to beat a very annoying post-event Dakar traffic. I’m sure he saw me waving at him.

President Barrow faces one hell of an uphill task. The Gambia, in terms of development needs, is not like Senegal. President Barrow, in terms of leadership expertise, is not like President Sall. This is just how things are. I hope the President accepts this reality.

Yet, self-belief can go a long way for President Barrow as he continues his wholesale transformation. I see a lot of adrenaline in him these days. I see a man pouring forward with so much desire, so much hunger. That he will do better than Jammeh and Jawara shows he is aching for success. Good for him because a leader who is not busy being successful, is busy failing.