INVESTIGATIVE REPORT | ALAGI YORRO JALLOW-GATE SERIES

DR AMADOU JANNEH WAS FIRED FROM TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY FOR SELLING FAKE I-20 VISAS, HE INTRODUCED THE MEDIA COMMISSION BILL, HE IS A CURSED MAN, ALLEGES ALAGI YORRO JALLOW

Jallow claims he secured a grant for Dr. Janneh’s book, accuses the former professor of political betrayal and privately encourages Daily Observer editors to criticise him before publishing a favourable account of the same man.

By Daily Observer News Desk

The Daily Observer’s continuing investigation into the private correspondence of former contributor Alagi Yorro Jallow has uncovered a series of extraordinary allegations he made against former Gambian Information Minister and academic Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh.

In private Facebook Messenger exchanges with Daily Observer editors, Jallow alleged that Dr. Janneh lost his university employment over the sale of fake I-20 documents to students, accused him of betraying the independent private press during the Yahya Jammeh administration, and claimed to have personally helped secure a grant towards the publication of his book Standing Against Injustice.

Jallow also discussed Janneh’s political associations with the Barrow government and criticised what he described as the former minister’s repeated changes of political allegiance. Jallow noted that Janneh is the brain behind the third-rate pro-NPP online propaganda site, JARRA NEWS.

But perhaps the most revealing aspect of the correspondence is the apparent contradiction between Jallow’s private condemnation of Janneh and his subsequent public praise. In fact, before the ink had dried on the piece written about Janneh using Jallow’s own information, Jallow turned around and wrote a separate opinion piece paying glowing tribute to Janneh, now somehow portraying the Daily Observer editors as the bad guys.

Perhaps the most serious accusation concerns Janneh’s former academic employment.

In one message, Jallow wrote:

“You’re right. I helped secure a small grant for his book but never wanted it made public, and he appreciated that. Our only problem is inconsistency in politics, but I’ll do a write-up for you to review before publication. Sometimes I wonder if he’s cursed. This man was fired as a lecturer for selling I-20s to students, then became a real estate dealer like Demba Baldeh, a man with a PhD, before landing a job at the US Embassy in The Gambia and working for Jammeh.”

The editor receiving the message expressed surprise.

“Hehehe, oh I never even knew he was fired. I always thought he just resigned to take up a ministerial job.”

The exchange is revealing. Jallow was making an allegation that the editor had apparently never heard before.

Although Jallow stated that Janneh had been dismissed from his university tenure-track position, the screenshots do not include employment records, university disciplinary findings or immigration documents substantiating the accusation.

In another message, Jallow returned to the same subject, this time expressing a measure of sympathy for Janneh while repeating his accusation.

He wrote:

“Thanks again. We all have our faults, and I believe he loves The Gambia but might be struggling with invisible forces. Can you imagine the first Gambian at his age, in his youth, with a doctoral degree and a career in academia, losing it all just for selling I-20s and his contradictions? Everyone deserves a second chance.”

In another message, Jallow turned his attention to Janneh’s association with the Yahya Jammeh government and the controversial National Media Commission.

He wrote:

“Dr. Janneh was once a friend, but when he joined Jammeh and introduced the National Media Commission, we drifted apart. We reconnected later when he became an activist, and I helped secure funding through OSIWA for the publication of his book while serving as their consultant. My tribute, unlike others, highlights both his sacrifices and his betrayals, his constant flip-flopping. He stands as a poor example for being the youngest Gambian to earn a PhD yet behaving like a village fool.”

Here was Jallow, privately portraying his former friend as a man who had betrayed the cause of press freedom after accepting an appointment in the Jammeh government.

The National Media Commission remains a contentious subject in Gambian journalism, particularly in discussions about attempts to regulate the independent press during the former administration.

Jallow’s message suggests that he regarded Janneh’s involvement as a serious political betrayal, one that damaged their friendship.

Yet the two men later reconnected when Janneh became involved in political activism.

The same message also contains Jallow’s claim that he helped secure funding through the Open Society Initiative for West Africa, commonly known as OSIWA, towards the publication of Janneh’s book.

In an earlier exchange, Jallow said he had never wanted his assistance made public, although he maintained that Janneh had appreciated it.

The screenshots do not reveal the amount of the grant, the precise funding arrangements or whether Janneh acknowledged Jallow’s contribution elsewhere.

However, the messages show that Jallow repeatedly mentioned his involvement in the publishing project while discussing Janneh’s political conduct.

And Jallow’s criticism did not end there.

In another message, he referred to an article he claimed to have written about Janneh in 2009.

He told Daily Observer editors:

“I read what you wrote about Dr. Janneh, and I can’t believe it. Back in 2009, I described him as a ‘typical intellectual prostitute,’ and I plan to revisit that article. I’m thinking of doing a tribute that’s a mix of his sacrifices and his inconsistencies, as well as his role in championing the infamous National Media Commission 2022 as Information Minister. I don’t think he has any family to advise him against his flip-flopping.”

These are Jallow’s words, reproduced from the private correspondence, and not descriptions adopted by this newspaper.

But the message raises an obvious question.

How does a man who privately uses such language about a former friend subsequently present himself publicly as an admirer of that same individual?

Of course, journalists are entitled to acknowledge both the achievements and failures of public figures. Jallow himself said he intended to write about Janneh’s sacrifices as well as his alleged betrayals.

The controversy concerns the striking difference that Daily Observer editors say they subsequently witnessed between the tone of his private communications and his public commentary.

The correspondence also reveals that Jallow was actively discussing proposed articles with the newspaper.

In one message, he wrote:

“Salam bro, I wanted to share my draft on Dr. Janneh for your review, if you don’t mind, before we use it and may need your input.”

The editor responded:

“yes, please send it bro”

Jallow replied:

“Okay, sending via messenger.”

This was not an isolated exchange between two people casually discussing Gambian politics.

Jallow was submitting or proposing editorial material and requesting the involvement of Daily Observer editors before publication.

The visible screenshot does not contain the draft itself, and one message is marked as not restored. Nevertheless, the conversation shows that Jallow sought editorial input on his proposed article about Janneh.

In another exchange, Jallow forwarded an article titled An Attempt on Press Control, attributed to Dr. Ousman Gajigo, before launching into criticism of its author.

Jallow wrote:

“Salam, I forwarded you an article by Dr. Gagigo, another ‘Tangal Cheeb’ politician who has formed a political party. If you check his Facebook, you’ll see he attacked a Gambian journalist and went after him. He’s someone who never contributed to Gambia’s democracy, instead focusing on career advancement until we achieved it. Now he wants to be a ‘peace-time hero’ despite never writing about or criticizing the dictator. His writing style makes him seem like someone without a doctoral degree. Just a thought, keep an eye on his writings and actions.”

Once again, Jallow was privately offering Daily Observer editors his assessment of a Gambian intellectual and drawing attention to material he believed deserved scrutiny.

The pattern of editorial suggestions is significant because it provides a fuller picture of his working relationship with this newspaper.

And then came what our editors considered the most extraordinary development.

According to the Daily Observer’s account, after Jallow supplied these allegations about Janneh, the newspaper published a strongly critical editorial examining the former minister’s political history and association with the National Media Commission.

But before the ink had barely dried on our digital pages, Jallow allegedly published another article presenting Janneh in a substantially more favourable light.

The newspaper’s editors were understandably troubled by the sequence.

Privately, Jallow had described Janneh as politically inconsistent, criticised his involvement in the Jammeh administration, questioned his academic career and supplied allegations that could seriously damage his reputation.

Publicly, according to our editors, his subsequent commentary struck a more complimentary tone.

The result, from the Daily Observer’s perspective, was that the newspaper appeared to be the principal critic of Janneh while the contributor who had supplied some of the harshest allegations distanced himself from that criticism.

The precise extent of this contradiction must be judged against Jallow’s published article, including its wording and date. The five screenshots establish his private statements but do not themselves reproduce the allegedly favourable public commentary.

Nevertheless, the episode raises questions about the relationship between editorial contributors and the publications with which they share information.

The Daily Observer also understands that Jallow made allegations concerning Janneh’s purported assistance to Yaya Dampha in the operation of JARA News.

However, that allegation does not appear in the five screenshots examined for this report. The nature of any involvement by Janneh with JARA News has not been independently established, and the claim remains unverified.

What the available correspondence does demonstrate is that Jallow was willing to make serious accusations about Janneh’s professional and political conduct in private discussions with Daily Observer editors.

The newspaper maintains that it is entitled to examine those communications, particularly where they relate directly to editorial material proposed for publication.

But the responsibility to distinguish accusations from proven facts remains essential.

The allegations about the I-20 documents, Janneh’s alleged dismissal, the publishing grant and JARA News require independent verification. The mere fact that Jallow made those statements does not establish their accuracy.

The central question for this newspaper is why Jallow privately communicated such severe criticisms while allegedly adopting a different emphasis in public.

It is also fair to ask what evidence he possessed when making his allegations, whether he intended the Daily Observer to rely upon them, and whether the individuals concerned were afforded an opportunity to answer.

For Dr. Janneh, the correspondence contains accusations that directly affect his academic and political reputation. He deserves the opportunity to respond to them.

For Jallow, the messages raise questions about his role as an editorial contributor and the consistency of the information he provided to the newspaper.

And for the Daily Observer, the episode provides another chapter in its increasingly contentious relationship with its former contributor.

The newspaper will continue examining the correspondence as part of the Alagi Yorro Jallow-Gate series, including other exchanges involving editorial proposals, political personalities and disputed accounts of Jallow’s involvement with the publication.

There are further messages to examine and further questions to put to those involved.

The Daily Observer will continue publishing its findings as the Jallow-Gate investigation unfolds.

Editor’s note: This report is based on screenshots of private correspondence supplied for editorial review. It records allegations made by Jallow but does not independently establish wrongdoing by Dr. Janneh. Responses from the individuals concerned and the relevant public article should be obtained and incorporated before publication.

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