A Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of Gambia’s pro-government Daily Observer newspaper, Mr. Dida Halake, has been sacked by the paper’s Board of Directors. Following his sack, Mr. Halake is currently being detained by the Gambia Police Force in Banjul, sources confirmed Thursday. On Monday, the police took Mr. Halake to the offices of the newspaper so he could hand over his office and official car keys to the new management of the paper. He was thereafter returned to detention. Accusations against him include financial mismanagement and abuse of office. Chief Superintendent Yankuba Sonko, the newly-appointed Crime Management Coordinator of the Gambia Police Force, confirmed Mr. Halake’s detention, but declined to comment further, saying investigation was still ongoing.
