Bakindick Village
By Buba Gajigo
Bakindick Village in the North Bank Region is currently embroiled in a dispute over the successor to the late Alkalo Sitafa Jammeh, who passed away in 2023.
Lamin Kairaba Jammeh, speaking to Kerr Fatou, explained that tensions over village resources preceded the late Alkalo’s passing. He recounted issues with funds generated from sand mining, alleging that individuals have collected payments from sand-hauling trucks for five years without proper record-keeping.
“Before our last Alkalo, Sitafa Jammeh, passed away, we discovered a source of sand that is used for building. People come with their trucks to collect it, but they do pay taxes meant for the village. For five years, they have collected money without keeping any records. They don’t provide receipts to the truck drivers or document the amounts collected. We only realized this when the village needed to access the funds. There was a time when our village borehole broke down, and we sought money to repair it, but we were informed that the funds were not for the village; they claimed the money belonged to them. They said the money from the sand is typically used to buy rams and sugar to share during Ramadan and Koriteh,” Lamin Kairaba Jammeh told Kerr Fatou.
He explained that after their request for sand funds was unsuccessful, they asked for the funds generated from their community-managed forest, overseen by the same individuals.
“We formed a joint forest committee with four villages—Kerr Tubai, Bakindik Wollof, Bakindik Mandinka, and Bakindik Tabocoto. These villages have managed the forest since 1998. It’s a well-developed forest, and we have bank accounts for the revenue it generates. When we requested this money to repair the borehole, we were told there was no money. We knew this wasn’t true, as the accounts exist. This led us, the villagers, to each contribute five hundred dalasis to repair the village borehole ourselves,” he stated.
He explained that after repairing their borehole with their own funds, they wrote to the Governor, requesting that their village receive a portion of the incoming sand revenue.
“The governor intervened and divided it into three parts: Nyori Kunda received 30%, Jarra Kunda 30%, and the village 40%. However, disagreements arose, leading to chaos, as not everyone accepted the arrangement. To resolve the issue, the governor advised us to restructure all committees, including the forest committee. We complied, but the previous forest committee members refused to step down. Wanting to avoid further conflict, we continued to manage the 40% of sand revenue we received for village development projects,” he stated.
Lamin Kairaba Jammeh reported that their Alkalo passed away in 2023, just two weeks after the sand was shared.
“Traditionally, when an Alkalo dies, the leadership is temporarily transferred to a Kabilo in Bakindick known as Mansakunda. At the end of the year, the elders of Jammeh Kunda convene to decide who will become the next Alkalo, usually selecting the eldest family member for the role. However, this time was different. On the 40th day after the late Alikalo’s death, Sulynman Jammeh, also known as Pa Manneh Jammeh, announced that he was the new Alikalo, despite most villagers being unfamiliar with him,” he explained to Kerr Fatou.
He stated that Sulayman (Pa Manneh Jammeh) claimed his brothers in the U.S. were aware of his appointment as our Alkalo, as was the Chief.
“We approached the Chief for clarification, but he discouraged us from discussing the matter. Eventually, the Chief sent representatives to our village to conduct an election between Sulayman (Pa Manneh Jammeh) and Kebba Fatou Jammeh, the eldest. We made it clear that we do not hold elections to select our Alkalo; that is not our tradition. We chose to boycott the election because it goes against our customary practices for appointing an Alkalo. Although a few individuals supported him, and he took their backing to the Minister, we gathered over 43 signatures opposing his appointment. We will not accept his leadership as Alkalo. They proceeded to install him unlawfully, and that’s where we stand now,” he concluded.
Amadou Sowe, a resident of the village, placed the blame for the ongoing issues squarely on Chief George Sonko and Governor Lamin Saidykhan.
“The chief and the governor are responsible for the problems we face because they appointed the Alkalo without following the proper procedures. Their motivations stem from interests in sand mining and forestry. It seems they want a specific Alkalo in place to facilitate their plans. The Village Development Committee (VDC) wants these resources to benefit the community, but the chief and the governor are siding with those pursuing their personal agendas.
“This Alkalo was chosen for the people of Bakindick, as traditionally the Alkaloship is passed down through inheritance. However, this time, due to the valuable resources, they decided to appoint someone else. For eight years, sand mining in Bakindick has only benefited a select few from a specific Kabilo, leading to widespread anger among villagers. When the previous Alkalo passed away, the chief hastily installed Pa Manneh, who not only lived outside of Bakindick but also isn’t the eldest in the Kabilo,” he explained.
When we reached out to the current Alkalo, who was reportedly appointed by the Chief and the Governor, he stated, “I have nothing to say regarding claims that I was installed by the Chief and the Governor. You should ask them instead.”
Although the Chief was unavailable on Sunday night, we were able to contact the North Bank Region Governor, Lamin Saidykhan, who refuted any allegations of imposing an Alkalo in any village.
“Nobody can impose Alkalo in any village. Alkalo is selected by the head of compounds. They submit the list to the chief and the Chief will submit that to me and I will send it to the Minister for approval. The Minister is the one who appoints Alkalos. There’s no imposing of Alkalo on anybody in any village. That cannot be possible,” the Governor of North Bank Region Lamin Saidykhan told Kerr Fatou.
Regarding the allegations of sending individuals to oversee the election in the village, he stated, “No, no election. What election? There was no election for Alkalo. It is by line of inheritance.”
In response to the villagers’ allegations that many do not support the installation of the current Alkalo, he stated:
“That’s their opinion because the list we have from the Chief and from the village is the list we sent to the minister for approval. But they have the right to challenge it because everybody cannot support the Alkalo. So it is up to them to tell the minister that they are not in agreement with the selection of the current Alkalo with reasons. If the majority don’t want the Alkalo the minister has the right to remove him, but we don’t impose any Alkalo in any village because I cannot appoint an Alkalo, the chief doesn’t appoint. It is the people who recommend somebody, and that person is approved at the ministry.” he said