Over 20 journalists, drawn from various media houses in the country, yesterday commenced a three-day training on court reporting and other related issues at the office complex of The Gambia Press Union (GPU) in Bakau.

The training is part of a series of training activities NATCOM embarked on for media practitioners in The Gambia under the sponsorship of UNESCO, coordinated by Media Agenda. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Haruna Jaiteh, judicial secretary, who deputised for the chief justice, Abdou Karim Savage, said the overall aim of the courts in the administration of justice is to maintain the rule of law by adhering to the due process of the law.

Jaiteh added that it requires a certain amount of knowledge, skills, ability and behaviour to serve the expectations of maintaining the rule of law. “Knowledge of the courts and journalism would be helpful [as well as] the ability to understand court cases. The courts have an important role to play in any given society. Their work and performance must be well reported. Court reports should be based on truth and nothing but the truth,”  the judicial secretary said.

Madi Ceesay, coordinator of Media Agenda, assured participants of his institution’s readiness to train Gambian journalists  to improve the quality and standard of journalism in accordance with the ever changing circumstances in the world. He hailed the country’s journalists over what he called a job well done, especially those reporting issues from the courts.

Ismaila Nabam, assistant editor at The Gambia News and Report magazine, who chaired the occasion described the training as historic. He said the training will greatly help to empower court reporters with the required skills and dedication. Naban called on the judicial officers to allow journalists to access relevant information from the courts.