“A Muzzle on the Press”: Gambian Media Leader Condemns New Government Regulations

By Fatou Sillah

The secretary general of the Gambia Press Union, Modou S. Joof, has raised alarm over a set of new government media policies, warning that they could significantly curtail press freedom and freedom of expression in the country.

In an interview with West Coast Radio, Mr. Joof said the proposed regulations—including the National Accreditation Policy and the Broadcasting and Online Content Regulations 2025—risk undermining media independence and limiting the ability of journalists to hold public officials accountable.

“The two documents put together do not protect press freedom,” Mr. Joof said. “They are not in the interest of the public, and they are not in the interest of promoting media independence, and they will muzzle press freedom.”

He described the measures as among the most restrictive policy proposals in the history of Gambian media.

Mr. Joof also rejected assertions that the press union had collaborated with the Ministry of Information in drafting the regulations, stating unequivocally that the union had no role in their development.

“The Gambia Press Union is not working with the ministry on these regulations or the content regulations,” he said.

Among his chief concerns are provisions within the content regulations that could limit investigative reporting. Mr. Joof pointed specifically to clauses that appear to restrict the use of secret recordings—a tool often used in investigative journalism.

“The content regulations, for example, have provisions that even try to restrict journalists from secret recording; that in itself restricts investigative journalism. If a content regulation is restricting that right of journalists, then what message is it trying to send?” he said.

He further criticized a voluntary accreditation framework embedded within the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, known as PURA, arguing that the body lacks the legal mandate to regulate online content or determine who is qualified to practice journalism.

“There is no legal basis for those extended mandates that have been given to PURA,” Mr. Joof said.

The government has not publicly responded to the concerns raised by the press union leader, but the information minister appeared on the same platform recently to defend the draft policies.