Deyda Hydara
| Deyda Hydara | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 9, 1946 |
| Died | December 16, 2004 (aged 58) |
| Nationality | Gambian |
| Occupation | Editor of The Point |
| Known for | Journalism, 2004 murder |
| Awards |
PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award (2005) Hero of African Journalism Award (2010) |
Deyda Hydara (June 9, 1946 – December 16, 2004) was a co-founder and primary editor of The Point, a major independent Gambian newspaper. He was also a correspondent for both AFP News Agency and Reporters Without Borders for more than 30 years. Hydara also worked as a Radio presenter in the Gambia called Radio Syd during his early years as a freelance journalist.
On 16 December 1991, Hydara co-founded The Point along with Pap Saine and Babucarr Gaye; Saine and Hydara had been friends since childhood. Gaye resigned four months later, and Hydara and Saine ran the paper together for the next decade.
Hydara was an advocate of press freedom and a fierce critic of the government of then President Yahya Jammeh, who was openly hostile to Gambian journalists and the media. On 14 December 2004, the Gambia passed two new media laws. One, the Criminal Code (Amendment) Bill 2004, allowed prison terms for defamation and sedition; the other, the Newspaper (Amendment) Bill 2004, required newspaper owners to purchase expensive operating licenses, registering their homes as security. Hydara announced his intent to challenge these laws, but on 16 December, was assassinated by an unknown gunman while driving home from work in Banjul. Two of his colleagues were also injured. As of February 2012, his murder remains unsolved. Although the killers have not yet been brought to justice, it is believed by some that the current government in the Republic of Gambia may have been responsible for this act.
Deyda Hydara was survived by his wife and his five children. He was posthumously awarded the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award in 2005 In 2010, he won the Hero of African Journalism Award of The African Editors’ Forum in 2010, sharing the latter with disappeared journalist Ebrima Manneh.
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