By Sainabou Sambou
In a landmark ruling that brings closure to a protracted and emotionally charged family dispute spanning more than 13 years, the High Court in Banjul has upheld the validity of a lifetime land gift made by the late Sally Badjie to two women she raised as her own daughters, declaring them the rightful owners of a specific portion of prime property in Wellingara.
Justice Ebrima Jaiteh delivered the judgment on Wednesday, dismissing claims by Manina Diedhiou, Sally Badjie’s biological son, who had sought sole ownership of the entire estate. The decision underscores the legal sanctity of inter vivos gifts—transfers made during a person’s lifetime—and highlights the importance of documentary evidence and long-standing possession in Gambian land inheritance cases.
- Jobe represented the plaintiff, Manina Diedhiou, while Lawyer M.K. Bah appeared for the defendants, Ndey Badjie and Haddy Badjie. The case revolved around a parcel of land in Wellingara, Kombo North District, West Coast Region, originally owned by Sally Badjie.
Diedhiou, acting through his attorney Ali Mendy, argued that as the sole biological child and surviving heir of Sally Badjie, who died on February 18, 2013, he was entitled to the full property. He presented a Transfer of Ownership issued by the Bundung Cadi Court on November 17, 2017, which recognized him as the heir, along with rates and taxes receipts, a valuation report, the deceased’s death certificate, and a registered Power of Attorney.
The plaintiff contended that Ndey and Haddy Badjie were neither biological nor legally adopted children of the late Sally Badjie and therefore had no inheritance rights. He urged the court to declare him the absolute owner, evict the defendants, grant a perpetual injunction barring them from the land, and award costs.
In a measured and detailed judgment, Justice Jaiteh rejected these claims. The court found that Sally Badjie had validly transferred a clearly demarcated 16-meter by 40-meter portion of the land—specifically the area encompassing the family residence—to Ndey and Haddy Badjie before her death. This transfer, the judge ruled, removed that section from her estate, meaning it could not pass to Diedhiou through inheritance.
The defendants never disputed Sally Badjie’s original ownership but insisted the disputed portion had already been gifted to them. They testified that they were raised from childhood by Sally Badjie and her late husband, and that they lived on the property for most of their lives. According to their account, the deceased treated them as full family members and, aware of her advancing age and declining health, deliberately decided to secure their future by transferring the land on which they resided.
Crucially, the transfer was not informal or clandestine. The defendants produced a formal attestation signed by Sally Badjie herself on November 15, 2012—mere months before her death. In the document, she explicitly acknowledged raising Ndey and Haddy under her care and expressed her wish for them to have a secure home after her passing. This was further supported by a Certificate of Land Transfer executed before the Alkalo of Wellingara, a sketch plan of the exact portion, and receipts for rates and taxes issued in the defendants’ names over several years.
A subsequent Transfer of Ownership issued by the Bundung Cadi Court on April 23, 2018, formally recognized their ownership of the 16m x 40m plot. The defendants alleged that Diedhiou’s initial application to the Cadi Court had omitted mention of the earlier gift. Once the court learned of the prior transfer and supporting documents, it corrected the record.
One of the plaintiff’s key objections concerned the Cadi Court’s authority to revisit its earlier decision. Justice Jaiteh dismissed this argument as misplaced. He noted that if Diedhiou believed the Cadi Court had exceeded its jurisdiction, the appropriate remedy was an appeal or judicial review—not a collateral attack in the High Court. “The issue before this Court is not whether the Cadi Court correctly exercised its powers, but whether the Defendants have established that the disputed property had been effectively transferred to them by way of a lifetime gift,” the judge stated.
Justice Jaiteh scrutinized the 2012 attestation, acknowledging it was not drafted in formal legal jargon but emphasizing that its intention was unmistakable. He attached considerable weight to the fact that it was executed during Sally Badjie’s lifetime, well before any litigation arose, lending it credibility and authenticity.
The court also drew on admissions made under cross-examination. Ali Mendy conceded that one defendant had been living on the property before inheritance proceedings began and that Sally Badjie had raised at least one of the women from childhood. These admissions, Justice Jaiteh observed, portrayed the defendants not as trespassers but as individuals with deep, longstanding connections to both the deceased and the land.
Applying established legal principles governing lifetime gifts, the judge outlined the three essential requirements: the donor’s clear intention, the donee’s acceptance, and the delivery or transfer of the property. All three were satisfied here. Sally Badjie demonstrated clear intent through the signed attestation and community-documented transfer; the defendants accepted and occupied the land; and formal documentation plus physical possession completed the gift before her death.
Importantly, the plaintiff failed to prove any forgery, fraud, or impropriety in the transfer documents.
Having ruled the gift valid and complete inter vivos, Justice Jaiteh declared: That Sally Badjie was the original owner of the Wellingara property; That she validly gifted the 16m by 40m portion to Ndey Badjie and Haddy Badjie during her lifetime; That the gift was legally effective before her death and no longer forms part of her estate; That the defendants are the lawful owners and occupiers of that specific portion and That the plaintiff is entitled only to the remainder of the estate not covered by the gift.
In a practical order aimed at preventing further conflict, the court directed both parties to engage professional surveyors to demarcate the boundaries within 90 days. Until then, both sides are restrained from interfering with or encroaching on each other’s portions. Reflecting the familial nature of the matter, each party was ordered to bear its own legal costs.
The ruling brings to an end years of uncertainty and tension within the extended Badjie family.
