By Buba Gagigo
Residents of Berending Village in the West Coast Region have firmly rejected a proposed new boundary between their community and Gunjur. The rejection comes amid a protracted land dispute between Berending and members of the Darboe Kunda Kabilo in Gunjur. The villagers made their stance clear during a press conference held on Saturday.
Speaking at the event, Ousman K. Jammeh, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Berending VDC, emphasized that the dispute involves only certain individuals from Gunjur Darboe Kunda, not the entire Gunjur community. He highlighted that Berending had won three separate court cases regarding the disputed land.
“We have no issue with the people of Gunjur as a whole; our dispute is only with a few individuals from Gunjur Darboe Kunda. This matter has been taken to court three times, and on each occasion, the rulings were in our favor.
In 2011, Chief Lamin Darboe sued Berending at the Brikama High Court, claiming that the disputed land belonged to his grandfather and that we had unlawfully occupied it. The court dismissed the case and fined him D10,000, which he paid.
Again in 2013, Alkalo Giki Darboe brought the same case before the High Court in Banjul. The court dismissed the case once more and imposed a D20,000 fine, which he also paid.
In 2016, they escalated the matter to the Court of Appeal in Banjul. However, the court dismissed the case for a third time and fined them D50,000, which was also paid,” said Ousman K. Jammeh, PRO of Berending Village.
Jammeh accused Darboe Kunda of attempting to use other family members to reopen the case after exhausting all legal options. He explained that the courts had consistently ruled that the disputed land belonged to Kartong Village, which had already allocated it to Berending.
“The judge ruled that the disputed land belongs to Kartong, which has already allocated it to Berending. The statements provided by Gunjur Darboe Kunda and their witnesses were inconsistent, and even their land survey plan contained errors.
In contrast, our land plans were prepared by a single surveyor and have been in existence since 1981. Both of our plans were signed by the same individual, which reinforced their authenticity in the eyes of the court. Our plans clearly outline boundaries, keys, scales, and roads connecting neighboring villages. Additionally, they indicate all surrounding villages, further confirming their accuracy. Based on this evidence, the judge authenticated our plans and reaffirmed that the land was rightfully given to Berending by Kartong,” Jammeh said.
Jammeh also recalled a violent confrontation over the land on March 16 March 2019, which resulted in a fatality. Following the incident, the government established a commission of inquiry headed by the Ministry of Lands under then-Permanent Secretary Buba Sanyang, a native of Gunjur.
“The commission tasked with investigating the dispute was led by the Ministry of Lands under the leadership of then-Permanent Secretary Buba Sanyang, who is himself a native of Gunjur. We believe that Buba Sanyang colluded with his people to push his own agenda.
We learned that Gunjur presented a court judgment during the process, but to this day, we do not know its origin. We have no recollection of facing them in the High Court regarding that particular judgment, making it irrelevant to the case.
The commission later recommended the retirement of our Alkalo without providing any justification. Suddenly, our forest lands were placed under an embargo. Whenever we seek official documentation, we are told the land is classified as a disputed area. We were never formally notified about this embargo, and to date, its basis remains unclear. I can confidently say that 75% of Berending’s land is now under embargo, all because of Buba Sanyang,” he claimed.
He stated that they later wrote a letter to the Physical Planning Head Office, but the Director claimed he was unaware of the issue. “He assured us that he would look into the matter, but up to now, we have not received any feedback,” he said.
He further revealed that a letter from the commission indicated plans for a boundary demarcation between Berending and Gunjur, but no demarcation occurred.
“We were all prepared for their arrival, but when they came, they claimed they only wanted to inspect the area. The demarcation never took place. We suspect they had ulterior motives for the community, but someone must have alerted them, causing them to change their plans.
Our position remains unchanged: it’s either the original boundary, which was confirmed by the High Court, or no boundary at all. We see no valid reason to establish a new boundary between Berending and Gunjur,” he said.
The Alkalo of Berending, Abdoulie Bojang, echoed Jammeh’s concerns, expressing frustration over the ongoing embargo affecting their lands.
“We cannot have peace in our own village; some of our lands are under embargo. Since then, we have followed with the authorities, but nothing has been done about it. We went to Physical Planning; they told me it is in the system, but the system had a problem, but they could not show me what the problem was—an Alkalo of the village. We went to the Lands Office, Physical Planning and other authorities, but nothing has been done.” he said
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