By Sanna Camara
Africa-Press – Gambia. Four months ago, the Ministry of Local Government and Lands appointed Bolong LK Jatta as Alkalo of Busumbala, a township of over 10,000 households in West Coast Region. To the central government, it has the authority to appoint whoever it wants to positions of authority; to the people, this decision is a slap in their faces. They never nominated, nor confirmed the candidate selected Mr Jatta. Above all, this candidate’s reputation was allegedly tattered by series of land cases in not just the town, but in the local government district and region.
The community of Busumbala views this decision as the return of a lands’ cartel to power, where the remainder of reserved lands designated for future needs of the community are threatened. The first casualty of their fears was confirmed when Brikama Magistrate’s Court made a ruling to “repossess” a community reserved land from the VDC to an individual, Mr Saikou Yarboe – a former Police officer now turned to a land dealer. Yarboe is reported to be involved in multiple land cases worth millions in West Coast Region.
The VDC, led by the chairman, Mr Moro Lamin Jatta, had since hired a lawyer to file a suit in the high court in Banjul, to contest the decision of the magistrate’s court in Brikama – that, within two sittings, made a “hasty” decision without properly examining facts around the land in question. It is one of those troubling trends of land disputes imploding various communities in the Gambia – involving not just the central government, but many estate agents and cartels.
Busumbala was one community that successfully battled and won against these cartels – thanks to team led by Mr Nfansu Jatta and the VDC.
The Alkaloship crisis
Bususmbala used to be a big constituency, with a strong influence in national elections. It encompasses what today becomes Old Yundum constituency, Sanneh Mentereng Constituency and its own Constituency. It hasan estimated 29,000 votes spread among 10,000 compounds. The town stretches up to seven kilometres in length on the Brikama Highway, connecting New Yundum and Farato.
However, it has traditional households and lineages called Bulundala: comprising10 compounds who are influential in administration and public policy matters of the village. The Bulundala gave full backing to Nfansu Jatta and his VDC to accelerate at full-throttle the crackdown on lands cartels, and management of community assets and other resources, a complete crackdown on land cartels, community resource management.
In 2021, a retired accountant who served in security and judiciary institution as a public servant since 1976, began shadowing the bed-ridden brother, Alkalo Boto Kaddy Jatta, as defacto Alaklo. He was a true son of Busumbala – both his matriarchal and patriarchal ancestry are connected to the chieftaincy of Busumbala, dating back to the fifth of the 12 Alkalolu and two chiefs the village had to date. Instead of grassroots administration, he chooses public service, until, the need to regulate land crisis in his village became a strong desire for the community. In him, the community saw an opportunity. He has both the lineage, the character and competence to lead Busumbala.
With the VDC, the soon got to work to review and hear hundreds of lands petition coming to his brother’s house on a daily basis, settled disputes over inherited lands, and helped them to designate community lands into reserved lands. These came through investigations to verify ownership, examining documents to assess claims and counter claims. Through this rigorous exercise, it was found that three to four land agents were using the Alkalo’s stamp to sell land without the appropriate authority’s knowledge. The cartels were not happy. While the VDC and majority of villagers saw an opportunity to restore investor confidence in Busumbala, the cartels saw this as a threat against their businesses. These agents were working for the cartels and Nfansu Jatta and the VDC with support from the community – became bad news for their land businesses. Mr Jatta and were able to rectify hundreds of land cases and property sales.
Early this year, then Alkalo Boto Jatta finally passed away. Nfansu Jatta became a natural choice of successor for many, having acted in that role for four years. When the community convened the meeting to sit over the Alkaloship, nine out of ten Bulundala representatives voted for him, against his opponent, Bolong LK Jatta. The VDC saw the latter as a member of the lands’ cartel. He was alleged to be involved in mysterious land cases, both resolved and unresolved, at the district and magistrate courts. Yet he was the oldest member of the Bulundala, who even played a role of advisor to the VDC. Bolong LK jatta had opted for chieftaincy and lost. He tried multiple times to become Alaklo and lost. To him, this was a fresh opportunity to climb to authority.
The politics of reform and power
In 2017, the new Coalition government began a reform process backed by strong policy of making community institutions like Alkalolu and Chiefs apolitical. It was a far cry from what used to obtain under Yahya Jammeh, when strong party loyalists, despite their community credentials, were elevated to positions of authority forced upon the people. It was an instrument of strengthening the grassroots support of the ruling party. Through these institutions, government interventions in agriculture, community developments are delivered to party loyalists. Non-party supporters were marginalised. Denied access to agriculture machinery, political packages like annual pilgrimage to Mecca, an importantcornerstone of every Muslim’s dream of accessing heaven, became a reward for party loyalists like Yai Compins, party mobilisers and other stalwarts.
These reforms that began in 2017 was meant to shift The Gambia’s local governance from top-down patronage to bottom-up democracy, where communities truly own their development. However, the bases of this reform wereto bring the Local Government Act, 2002 in line with modern governance standards fit for today’s societies. Although it was a major step toward decentralisation in The Gambia, its goal to empower communities and democratize representation has not been a serious political consideration for the Barrow government.
But the dispute is not just over land and roles; it is also political. Of the 20,000 votes in Busumbala, the ruling NPP hardly scores beyond 2,000 votes in elections. It is considered an opposition stronghold. Hence the Alkalo crisis also brought about the matter of 2026 general elections, as many of the ruling party stalwarts in Busumbala see the principled stance of Nfansujatta as a problem for their victory plans over opposition.
In the run up to the 2021 elections, hundreds of attestations were denied from potential voters who claim to be residents of Busumbala but were not recognised as such by the authority of the Alkalo vested in Nfansu Jatta. So many of these attestation letters were diverted to the Chief to enable them register and vote in Busumbala, instead of the Alkalo, who by law, is vested with authority.
“I was resented for denying these potential voters a chance to vote,” Nfansu Jatta explained when we reached out to him last week at his house in Busmbala. “I do not belong to any political camp. I represent Busumbala,” he said.
To him, simple questions he asks those denied attestations were, “Which of the compounds [in Busumbala] where you born at? Who are your parents”. This is a second problem that the regional authorities found with his Alkaloship, on top of the land’s regulation.
He said he was also opposed to opening political bureaus in Alkalo’s compound for campaign activities. To him, those should be independent of the administrators. They belong in political bureaus independent of Alkalolu and Chiefs. They should be run by chairpersons and Yai Compins. Not alkalolu.
The land in dispute
In 1954, a famous flood displaced the community of Busumbala. Then a small village outside the Yundum airport. The area was a lowland and susceptible to such eventualities. Thousands sought shelter in the airport perimeter. Government decided that the households be moved to a different part of the area suitable for residency. A piece of land, measuring 100 by 100 metres, was designated as prayer grounds for their Eid festivities.
Meanwhile, as populations grows, the area became small for the expanding households, hence in 1989, a football field became the new prayer grounds for such events. Since then, the land was seen as a community land, until the VDC designated it a reserved land for future use. Hence protecting it from cartels.
Four months into the tenure of the new Alkalo, Mr Nfansu Jatta, having his popular candidacy turned down by the state, received a summon from the Brikama Magistrates court over the community land in question. A grand-nephew of the Yarboe family in Busumbala, Saikou Yarboe, a former PIU officer, is claiming ownership of this same land.
“Nfamalaytaamu (it belongs to my dad), who inherited it from his father. It was a compound back in 1954 when the flood hit the community. After families were relocated, the land was handed to Arafang Nfansu Marong (late Imam) for community prayer activities,” Saikou Yarboe told me at his house on Tuesday evening in Busumbala, as we shared a roasted corn I bought from the street on my way to meet him.
However, he said he reported the matter to the late Alkalo Boto jatta, when he found the VDC, Nfansu Jatta and the Bulundala exercising jurisdiction over it. He never heard from the Alkalo until he passed this year. When a new Alkalo was selected, Saikou Yarboe said he reported the matter to him and succeeded in getting a letter affirming his claim over the land. He went to court and a judgement was secured within two sittings and the land was reposed to him.
The current Alkalo Bolong Jatta said he does not recognise the Busumbala VDC because they do not recognise his ALkaloship.
“The Alkalo recognised my ownership of the land in question,” Saihou Yarboe explained.
He accused the VDC of selling parts of the land to a businessman and pocketing the proceeds.
This was what led him into action against the VDC and Mr Nfansu Jatta.
However, his uncle, Dembo Yarboe, a member of the VDC, said his nephew is lying: “His claims of ownership are false. He is part of the cartel selling off community lands across West Coast Region.”
Dembo said Saikou battling several land disputes worth millions and is desperately looking for ways to settle them before he is taken to Mile 2.
VDC Chairman, Morro Lamin Jatta, said Saikou Yarboe misled the courts with “questionable papers” he holds as valid documents.
“His grandfather has eight biological sons, none of whom is claiming ownership of the said land. It is just him and the new Alkalo working together to dispossed the community of the said land.”
Why the reforms are crucial
This dispute provides a glimpse into what obtains across several suburban townships, mostly as population density expands from Kanifing Municipality to West Coast Region. It strikes a chord with the needed reforms that began in local government governance in 2017.
In order to empower communities to be more democratic and own their development, the state needs to play minimal roles and allow communities to take charge of their affairs.
Community nomination and vetting based on values like integrity, service, and local consensus must be central, including mandating ethical vetting of candidates. They must require public declarations of community service history, conflict-of-interest disclosures, and endorsements from local civic groups.
Unless these and other reforms are instituted in the local governance structures, disputes like what we are currently witnessing in Busumbala will continue to endanger and disrupt development, and community resources would become first casualties.
Source: The Standard Newspaper | Gambia
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