By Amadou Manjang
The Freedom House recently trained 15 Journalists from various media houses on Investigative Journalism.
According to the organisers, this is the second cohort of the Investigative Journalism fellowship program for Gambian Journalists that will run for six weeks.
Throughout the program, the journalists will be engaged in practical story development and participate in both onsite and online sessions.
Speaking at the orientation ceremony, Muhammed S. Bah, the President of Gambia Press Union, said investigative journalism is now needed more than ever in the country because there is a lot of alleged corruption, mismanagement of public funds as revealed by Audit Reports as well as the irrational behaviour of politicians justifying their acts.
He said such things need to be investigated and reported; adding that the training is timely as it will help journalists to report financial mismanagement and injustices happening in the country. He advised the selected journalists to take the training seriously and put the gained skills and knowledge into practice.
‘A lot of things are happening in this country which we need to be reporting,’ he said.
Ms Isatou Keita, Media Specialist for Freedom House, said the training is geared towards building the capacity of journalism for investigation reporting. She said there is a need to increase investigative reporting to promote transparency and good governance in the country.
Mr Mustapha Ceesay, a trainer, said his expectation from the trainees is to show dedication and commitment throughout the fellowship program and also practice investigative journalism.
‘This is what I expect from you,’ he said.
Mustapha K. Darboe, a trainer cum investigative journalist, told the trainees that they have the capacity to do investigative reporting. He said the fellowship is an opportunity for them to venture into it.
He further encouraged the trainees to venture into investigative journalism. He told them that investigative journalism is not difficult since all it requires is the willingness to do it.
Sharing her experience from the fellowship program, Kaddy Jallow, a trainee of the first cohort told trainees that the fellowship is very rewarding. She said the fellowship is a gateway to investigative journalism for those who are interested in investigative journalism. She advises them to take it seriously.
‘It is not going to be easy to be an investigative journalist because you are trying to uncover something that someone else is covering,’ she said.
Speaking on their expectation from the fellowship program, Isatou Jallow, a trainee, said she joined the fellowship to become an investigative journalist to report on under-reported things in the country.
Momodou Edrissa Njie, another trainee, said he also joined the fellowship to learn about investigative journalism so that he could report on some of the wrongs and injustices in the country.
