Sources very close to the family of the late Dawda Nyassi reportedly gunned down by former regime’s hitmen, under the alleged auspices of the late Tumbul Tamba have informed forGambia that the sister of the late Nyassi had spent years looking for her brother. She at some point thought he had returned to Liberia.

The late Dawda Nyassi hailed from Foni Bondali Santanba. He went to Liberia in the 1990s during the Liberian civil war through the Gambia’s late Kukoi Samba Sanyang, according sources. Nyassi, sources added went with Swanding Camara, Mbalow Kanteh, and Sulayman Sarr. Swanding is also from Bondali Santangba.

These were Gambians that played pivotal roles in the guard fronts of former Liberian rebel leader, and later head of State, Charles Taylor. They were fighting along side Kukoi Samba Sanyang for Taylor, sources say. Swanding Camara was temporalily detained in conection with the murder of Mahawa Cham.

Some Gambian citizens in Liberia during and after Taylor’s rebellion were considered dissidents by some front. Later, Yahya Jammeh granted them what sources called, “Amnesty” to return to The Gambia. Dawda used that opportunity for a homecoming.

Sources continued that, however, late Kukoi Samba Sanyang granted an interview to some media which helped foment distrust between the Liberian returnees and the Jammeh regime. It could be observed from Malick Jatta’s testimony where he alleged those dissidents granted “amnesty” being perceived as “ungrateful” by the Yahya Jammeh hit team. Earlier, Kukoi had visited Gambia and held talks with Jammeh. He later left the country.

Dawda Nyassi used to live in Bakoteh, near the Bantaba at the time of his abduction by Tamba and his men, sources say. While in Liberia, he married a Liberian woman which he brought home to The Gambia. He had several children with her, some of whom currently live with his sister, Amie Nyassi in Bondali Santanba. The late Nyassi’s father was a wealthy man, according to family sources.

We earlier reported how Ousman Sonko expressed willingness to testify at the TRRC if given the courtesy. It was regarding the murder of late Deyda Hydara—a murky history that besmirched his name for years. We continue to hope that Jatta’s account of events will keep shedding more light on the Deyda Hydara question.

Around June 4^th to parts of July 2002, the late Buba Baldeh organized an in-house journalism training for Daily Observer reporters. Deyda Hydara was among the lecturers. With his usual stammer, Hydara delivered a quality lecture to us on July 7^th, 2002 on the Observer premises in Bakau.

The above notes from Deyda’s lectures [in my quick shorthand] were given in what we called, “The Television Room” at the Observer. A preamble in his presentation was how to report a hard news article. He gave the example of “Saf Lekka”, a restaurant that accidentally caught fire. The notes, I apologize are almost twenty years old and not in very good shape.