Alieu Badara Saja Taal (March 22, 1944 – April 2, 2014) was a Gambian academic and politician. Taal was born in

Banjul Banjul (, (US) and ), officially the City of Banjul, is the capital city of The Gambia. It is the centre of the eponymous administrative division which is home to an estimated 400,000 residents, making it The Gambia's largest and most densely ...

. He completed his high school education at Methodist High School before receiving his B.A.(hons) and M.A. degrees at the University of New England, Australia and a PhD at Massey University, New Zealand. After completing his education, Taal went into politics, becoming a permanent secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Office of the President, and Ministry of Education. Taal lectured in the areas of political science, management, public administration and tourism at the

University of the Gambia The University of the Gambia (UTG) is an institution of higher education located in Kanifing, the Gambia. History The campus was founded in 1998 in Kotu-Kanifing District, Kanifing, a suburb of Sere Kunda. It was not until March 1999 that the U ...

. He published several academic papers, such as the influential "Pan-Africanism - An African liberation ideology against the domination of Africans by Whites". From 2005 to 2007 Taal was the managing director of

The Daily Observer ''The Daily Observer'' is a newspaper published in Bakau in Banjul, the Gambia. The paper, Gambia's first daily newspaper,Gabriel I. H. Williams, ''Liberia: the heart of darkness'', Trafford Publishing, 2002, p.333 was founded by Mae Gene and K ...

. It was during his term as director that journalist

Ebrima Manneh Ebrima B. Manneh (February 18, 1978–2008?) was a Gambian journalist who was arrested in July 2006 and secretly held in custody. In March 2019, the Gambian newspapers ''The Trumpet'' and " The Point" newspaper reported that Manneh died in mid-20 ...

disappeared without a trace. Taal provided criticism for refusing to comment on the matter. His house was robbed in 2011. Taal died on April 2, 2014, in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

, Senegal. The cause of death was a

liver infection The liver is a major metabolic organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of various proteins and various other biochemicals necessary for ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taal, Saja 20th-century Gambian politicians Academic staff of the University of the Gambia 1944 births 2014 deaths Deaths from liver disease