By: Kebba Ansi Manneh
Nineteen families in Farato, Kombo South, have issued an urgent appeal to the Government of The Gambia for immediate intervention to avert what they describe as an impending bloodbath over a long-running land dispute involving an alleged vigilante group.
At a press conference held in Farato, representatives of the affected families accused police, the judiciary, and local authorities of complicity and double standards, claiming they have failed to enforce multiple court judgments in their favor.
Alieu Bah, speaking on behalf of the families, detailed the dispute’s origins. Since 2006, the families have been locked in a legal battle with the late Alkalo of Bafuloto, Manku Saidy, who claimed ownership of their farmlands. The High Court ruled in favor of the Farato families in 2012 and imposed a D300,000 fine on Saidy. An appeal at the Supreme Court also ended in victory for the families, with an additional D90,000 compensation ordered against Saidy. These rulings followed an earlier favorable decision by the District Tribunal.
Despite the string of court victories, the families say enforcement has been impossible. A writ of possession was granted, and the Sheriff Division, along with Physical Planning, issued demolition notices. However, attempts to reclaim the land have been met with fierce resistance from a vigilante group allegedly led by Alagie Jobe of Bafuloto Nemasu.
“In 2017, during a demolition exercise, Jobe’s group, armed with cutlasses, knives, and other weapons, attacked the team,” Bah recounted. “They wounded some officers, burned a grader, a Mercedes-Benz, and other properties.”
The families expressed deep frustration with law enforcement’s response. Bah alleged that complaints against the vigilante group are routinely dismissed at Farato, Busumbala, and Banjulinding police stations, with Jobe and his associates released without charge. Senior police officers, including the late IGP Mamud Jobe, DIG Demba Sowe, and OC Omar Jahateh, have reportedly intervened to secure Jobe’s release on multiple occasions.
Abdoulie Fanneh, another representative, stressed that the families have no direct quarrel with Jobe’s group but with the late Alkalo’s claim. “Even after Manku Saidy’s death, Jobe continues to encroach on our land and has sold over 100 plots,” Fanneh said. The families claim they have paid substantial sums—D135,000, D80,000, and D20,000—for police escorts to enforce demolition orders, yet no action has been taken.
The situation has reached a boiling point. Fanneh warned that the families, who have exercised restraint for years, are now prepared to take matters into their own hands if the government fails to act decisively. “We have avoided confrontation, but without intervention, a bloodbath is inevitable,” he stated.
Other speakers, including Omar Bah, Ansumana Sonko, and Alagie Bah, echoed these concerns. They noted that the West Coast Region Governor’s office had organized two mediation meetings, both of which collapsed. The families reportedly offered to allow those who had already developed plots to remain, claiming only undeveloped land, but Jobe’s group rejected the proposal and allegedly insulted Governor Ousman Bojang and his deputy before storming out.
The families are calling on the government, including the Ministry of Justice and security forces, to enforce the court judgments and restore order. As tensions mount in Farato, residents fear that without swift and firm intervention, the long-simmering dispute could erupt into deadly violence.
