The Daily Observer is a newspaper published in Bakau in Banjul, the Gambia.
The paper, Gambia's first daily newspaper, was founded by Kenneth Best in 1990. Best had previously managed another paper called the Daily Observer in Liberia, until the First Liberian Civil War caused him to relocate with his family to the Gambia. In October 1994, following Yahya Jammeh's military coup, Best was expelled from Gambia, although the newspaper was allowed to continue.
Ebrima Manneh case
In July 2006, Observer reporter Ebrima Manneh was reportedly arrested by state security after attempting to republish a BBC report criticizing Jammeh shortly before an African Union meeting in Banjul; his arrest was witnessed by coworkers. Though ordered to release Manneh by an Economic Community Of West African States court, the Gambian government has denied that Manneh is imprisoned. According to AFP, an unnamed police source confirmed Manneh's arrest in April 2009, but added he believed Manneh "is no longer alive." Amnesty International considers Manneh to be a prisoner of conscience and named him a 2011 "priority case." The Committee to Protect Journalists has also called for his release.