Top BBC correspondent Umaru Fofana and British and French nationals left The Gambia on Wednesday over failure to produced clearance from the government to work, Information and Communications Minister Ebrima Sillah has confirmed.
He said the BBC team entered the country without clearance or accreditation to work, but after he made efforts for the team to stay in the country to work, revealing that when he call Fofana’s and colleagues they responded from the ferry informing him that their assignment was planned for two days and they have to leave.
“You know a country doesn’t work like that, foreign journalist work in a country with clearance or accreditation from the authority. I was informed that Fofana’s and colleagues arrived by 11pm from Ziguinchor, Senegal and in the morning, I was trying to arranged for their stay to do their work, but they told me their mission was for two days,” Sillah told The Voice.
Ebrima Sankareh, the government spokesperson told The Voice that when the Immigration contacted him, he made some efforts saying “even in any part of the world or even when you are covering big event as Gambian journalist you need accreditation.”
He said Fofana and colleagues were not balance in their statement of request, saying that the journalist said they came in from Casamance Senegal south where they make a documentary on illegal logging and they were passing through The Gambia on transit.
He stressed that despite Gambia is media and journalists are free to do their work, that did not give right to any journalist to just walk in the country and collect information with clearance or accreditation,
Source at Giboro immigration border post revealed that Umaru Fofana and colleagues arrived at border on Tuesday and upon their arrival Immigration and securities officers at the border contacted their seniors including Commissioners among others.
The Source added after an hour of calls and discussion the journalists were allowed to enter the country especially for Fofana’s who hold ECOWAS passport, revealing that they spend the night in a local hotel.
Source also revealed that on Wednesday morning the journalists were interrogated briefly by securities officers before leaving the country.