Deyda Hydara

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.

Journalism with The Point

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.

Murder

Hydara was an advocate of press freedom and a fierce critic of the government of President Yahya Jammeh, who has been 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.