[1] The paper, Gambia's first daily newspaper,[2][self-published source] was founded by Mae Gene and Kenneth Best in 1990.
[3] Kenneth 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.
[2] In October 1994, following Yahya Jammeh's military coup, Best was expelled from Gambia,[4] although the newspaper was allowed to continue.
[7] Some of the topics covered during the tenure of Cham Joof included: 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;[8] his arrest was witnessed by coworkers.
"[9] Amnesty International considers Manneh to be a prisoner of conscience and named him a 2011 "priority case.