Arson Attack against Radio 1 FM Station

At around 3 a.m. on August 10, seven unidentified men armed with tear gas and gasoline tried to force their way into Radio 1 FM's compound on Karaiba Avenue. When the station's night watchman raised an alarm, some of the attackers assaulted him and sprayed him with tear gas. Others doused the compound with gasoline and set it ablaze.

Staff members, including Radio 1 owner George Christensen and presenter Ousman Jallow, sustained serious injuries and burns when they wrestled with the attackers. But they did manage to extinguish the fire before it could reach the broadcast studios. Radio 1 FM remained off the air from August 10 until August 12.

The station had some prior warning of the attack. On August 8, according to Modou Thomas, head of news and current affairs at Radio 1 FM, Christensen had received an anonymous letter warning that he faced severe reprisals for having raised his voice at Fatoumata Jahumpha Cessay, presidential adviser on media relations, during the August 6 edition of the political talk show "Sunday Newshour."

In an interview published in the August 14 issue of the Banjul weekly The Independent, Christensen said he had indeed been warned that the station faced imminent attack. He said several Radio 1 journalists had recently received threatening letters and telephone calls warning of impending attacks.