The fate of Fatou Jaw Manneh, a US-based Gambian journalist accused of sedition, is not certain, as her case file has gone missing. On March 17, 2008, when the case was called, the trial magistrate, Buba Jawo, said there was no file before him pertaining to the case. Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) sources reported the case has since been adjourned indefinitely.

Five state agents of The Gambia, who were summoned by the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja, Nigeria in the ongoing case of a "disappeared" Gambian journalist on March 11, 2008, defied the court's order and failed to make an appearance. The security agents had been invited by the court to clear themselves of their alleged involvement in the arrest and subsequent detention of Chief Ebrima Manneh, a former reporter of the pro-government Banjul-based Daily Observer newspaper.

Five State Agents of The Gambia were expected to appear on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 before the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja, Nigeria in the ongoing case of a detained Gambian journalist, Chief Ebrima Manneh. This followed an order from the Community Court for the agents to appear before it to answer their alleged roles in the arrest and subsequent detention of Manneh, a former reporter of the pro-government Banjul-based Daily Observer newspaper, who has been “disappeared” since July 2006.

Mam Sait Ceesay, a former editor of the Daily Observer, a Banjul-based pro-government newspaper was again on February 25, 2008 arraigned before a Banjul Magistrate Court over charges of publishing false information. The journalist's appearance in court followed a brief detention on February 2, 2008 at the Serious Crime Unit of The Gambia Police Force.

The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is expected to give its judgment on the case of Chief Ebrima Manneh, a Gambian journalist at the pro-government Banjul-based Daily Observer newspaper, who has been "disappeared" since July 2006.

Over 350,000 Gambians have returned to the polls to elect their local government representatives - exactly a year after the country held national assembly polls. This time voters will elect mayors, municipal chairpersons and councillors. Already, 55 of the 114 wards have been declared unopposed. A total of 266 observers have been accredited to monitor the polls, the electoral commission Chairman, Mustapha Carayol, said.

Gambia authorities on January 15, 2008 indefinitely suspended the broadcast of Radio France International (RFI) in Banjul for airing what they referred to as an “erroneous news story". A release from the Department of State for Communications, Information and Technology, six days after the closure on January 21 in explaining government’s action said the decision was in line with the professional ethics of the media in The Gambia.

A group of Gambian media practitioners in Dakar, Senegal, and The Gambia have recently launched an online radio that features mainly issues affecting The Gambia. Radio Alternative Voice, found at on the World Wide Web, offers programmes in English, Mandingka and Wollof. With the current political atmosphere in The Gambia, the Dakar-based journalists, with their counter-parts in Banjul, felt it necessary to initiate an online media with the sole objective of providing the Gambian people with an alternative means of accessing impartial and independent information.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has filed another suit at the Community Court of the Economic Committee of West Africa States (ECOWAS) in Abuja, Nigeria against the Government of the Gambia over a case of illegal detention and torture of journalist Musa Saidykhan.

The Community Court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has adjourned its judgment in the case of the “disappearance” of Chief Ebrima Manneh, a reporter for the pro-government Banjul-based “Daily Observer” newspaper to November 28, 2007.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the persistent threats to the life of Yaya Dampha, a reporter with the Foroyaa newspaper in The Gambia, after him and two Amnesty International staff were arrested, detained and released for alleged ‘spying’. According to reliable sources from Banjul, plain clothes officers, believed to be agents of the National Intelligence Agency, (NIA), on Sunday, October 14, stormed Dampha’s house in Latrikunda Sabiji, about 20 kilometres from the Capital Banjul.

Amnesty International has announced the unconditional release of its two delegates who had been detained in The Gambia, along with the local journalist detained with them. The organization said that no charges had been brought against any of the three. "The fact that these people were detained solely for their human rights work is deplorable," said Erwin van der Borght, Director of Amnesty International's Africa Programme. "While we welcome the releases, all restrictions on the work of human rights activists in The Gambia must be lifted immediately."

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today expressed its fear that Chief Ebrima Manneh, who has been missing for more than a year and was reportedly being held incommunicado, has been killed in jail in The Gambia. 'This information is extremely devastating for the media community in The Gambia and journalists around the world', said Gabriel Baglo, Director of the IFJ Africa Office. 'We call on the Gambian Police, the NIA and government to provide evidence that Chief Ebrima Manneh is alive as we firmly believe that they know his whereabouts.'

The abrupt 50 per cent sale of Gambia's telecommunications company, Gamtel, and its subsidiary company Gamcel shares last month has been creating row within the government circles, with the government accused of pursuing the challengers of the deal. Already, some heads have started rolling, the minister of forestry and environment being the first casualty. Rtd Captain Edward Singhateh was fired as the general secretary of the ruling APRC of president Yahya Jammeh. Singhateh's dismissal was contained in a mere terse press release issued by the office of the president.

The Gambia's efforts to provide wireless telephones to 350 villages have been hampered by insufficient funds, the country's Communications and Information Technology Minister, Nenneh Macdouall-Gaye, told parliament.

The Gambia has announced the creation of its first science academy, which will address the shortage of scientists in the country. The academy will prepare students at primary and secondary level for university-level science, technology and mathematics courses.

A Gambian journalist of the sealed bi-weekly newspaper, 'The Independent', was convicted by a regional court to either pay US $2, 000 or in default serve a year in prison. His attorney, Lamin Camara, vows to appeal against the conviction at the High Court.

Lamin Fatty, a reporter with the banned Banjul-based bi-weekly "The Independent", who is standing trial at the Kanifing Magistrate's Court for publishing "false information", on 21 May 2007 denied ever publishing any "false information". The journalist told the court that, as a reporter, he only gathered facts and submitted them to the editors who hold the ultimate responsibility for publishing.

A sizable number of Gambian female circumcisors publicly abandoned their knives in front of a crowd at the Independence Stadium in Bakau, 12 km from the capital Banjul, swearing that they would no longer use their knives to circumcise or mutilate the genitals of young girls. The move will instil hopes among national and international activists campaigning against the age-old culture of female genital mutilation otherwise known as FGM.

A magistrate in Kanifing, a district in Serrekunda, Gambia's largest city, ruled on 11 April 2007 that his court had the jurisdiction to hear a criminal case against US-based Gambian journalist, Fatou Jaw Manneh, after her lawyer argued that the case fell outside the court's jurisdiction.