By: Kebba Ansu Manneh
Nearly five years after President Adama Barrow publicly presented land transfer documents for the Strasser Football Field to the people of Brufut, unresolved questions over ownership continue to fuel fresh controversy in the coastal community.
Residents say they still lack full legal title to the field located within Brufut Heights, despite the 2021 announcement made at a political gathering in Jambur Village. The dispute has drawn in the Gambia Tourism Board (GTBoard), the Physical Planning Department, the National Center for Arts and Culture (NCAC), the Brufut Village Development Committee (VDC), and a construction firm that recently laid a foundation stone on the site.
Community members describe a pattern of incomplete paperwork, conflicting claims about whether the land falls inside the Tourism Development Area (TDA), and a stalled process that has left them unable to secure clear documentation. One source familiar with the matter said there is still no visible evidence that the land has been fully returned since the President’s announcement. Residents report ongoing difficulties obtaining the necessary papers from both Physical Planning and GTBoard.
GTBoard has maintained that the field lies within the TDA and has sought to allocate a portion of it to the NCAC for a museum. The community has rejected that request. A concerned Brufut resident questioned the classification, noting that Brufut Heights is a residential settlement with private houses scattered between the sea and the football field. “How can that be part of the TDA?” the resident asked. The VDC has been accused of leaving the impression that the Heights form part of the tourism zone, a position locals strongly dispute.
The allocation letter handed over in 2021 has also come under scrutiny. Critics say an ordinary board member, not the Minister of Tourism, the GTBoard Director General, or the Board Chairman, signed it. The letter is further said to omit the full dimensions of the field that the community has already fenced, raising suspicions that GTBoard had long planned to carve out land for the NCAC project.
Financial hurdles have compounded the problem. The community previously paid more than D12,000 to Physical Planning for documentation on institutional lease allocation. GTBoard has since demanded a land premium fee exceeding D200,000, a figure the people of Brufut have rejected. During the 2021 Jambur meeting, Seedy Ceesay, then Administrative Secretary of the National People’s Party (NPP) and a candidate for Brikama Area Council Chairman, reportedly told residents that the premium fee had been waived. That assurance has not translated into completed paperwork.
Momodou Jallow, Secretary General of the Brufut VDC, confirmed that the committee has not yet secured full documentation. The committee has obtained the institutional allocation lease from Physical Planning but has not paid the GTBoard premium. Jallow rejected suggestions that the 2021 announcement was merely a political gesture aimed at securing youth support for the NPP ahead of the presidential election. He said the President delivered an allocation letter that paved the way to complete the remaining formalities.
Jallow defended the position that the field falls within the TDA, warning that failure to settle the premium fee could expose the community to future claims if another administration revisits the allocation. On the NCAC request, he stated that the VDC reviewed an official letter from GTBoard expressing interest in building a national museum and rejected any slicing of the football field. “We had agreed that no portion of the football field be given to GTBoard,” he said. What remains, he added, is payment of the premium so that “tomorrow no other government will come back to us to reclaim the land.”
Parallel controversy surrounds a Memorandum of Understanding with Pavifort Construction Company. The VDC recently laid the foundation stone for a multipurpose center at the Strasser field, purportedly sponsored by the firm. Critics argue that Pavifort has failed to honor commitments made under an earlier MoU that has now expired. They say building on disputed land is a non-starter, and any new agreement should be delayed until previous promises are fulfilled.
Jallow acknowledged that the first MoU expired and that a second draft is under discussion. The draft includes unfinished corporate social responsibility items from the original agreement, including the multipurpose center, completion of the dumpsite fence, refilling potholes in Brufut, and finishing the perimeter fence around the football field. He said the draft has been shared with the parties, most key points have been agreed, and the document awaits authentication and signatures.
When contacted, Alkalo of Brufut Malamin Manneh declined to comment in detail. He referred inquiries to the VDC, stating that members who had already spoken represented his position.
