The media is given the constitutional responsibility to make the government accountable to the people. The courts are no exception. As the third arm of the state and the last resort for justice, the media has the duty to capture how proceedings are conducted. This will enable the people to pass judgment as to whether justice is seen to be done.
This is why public hearing ought to be covered by the media to enable the public to pass their judgment regarding the freeness and fairness of a trial. Foroyaa deliberately refused to publish the details of proceedings from which its journalists were excluded. However when Yankuba Touray was brought to court yesterday, 2nd July 2019 Foroyaa and other media houses were not subjected to any obstruction in covering the proceedings.
The key question was whether the high court has jurisdiction to hear the case against Yankuba Touray. Since the high court is a court of records both sides have been asked to submit their briefs to the court for a ruling.
