By Sulayman Waan
Residents of Tranquil have called on government to intervene in their land dispute as they face eviction following ownership claim by a German national over the land.
The twenty-two families claimed ownership of lands of 22 plots (compounds) measuring 180 by 69 x 150 x 137.9 0 meters from the Alkalo of Bijilo, but Bernd George Diedrich, German national filed a case against them in 2012 claiming ownership of the land.
Speaking in an organised news conference in Tranquil, Sulayman Badjie, secretary of the group said: “We appeal to His Excellency President Barrow and his able government to come to our aid and intervene to help us resolve this land dispute amicably.”
Badjie expressed dismayed on the matter, saying the magnitude of pain and frustration they encountered cannot be underestimated, as he called on government and all genuine citizens to resolve the two-decade of frustration they are encountering.
“As citizens, we deserve some kind of protection,” he said.
In 2012 the Sheriff Division ordered the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) of The Gambia Police Forces to evict the 22 families forcibly and allowed Mr Diedrich get in.
However, he said this time they are not leaving their homes worth millions of dalasi. “The trend of this situation is frustrating and could eventually lead to serious conflict. The possible consequence of this may lead to violence or undesirable result since they are constant coming to our homes to evict us forcefully.”
Secretary Badjie accused Mr Diedrich for stealing their valuable such as flat screen, broken tiles when they were evicted.
“Bernd even tried to sale our homes when the matter was not even judicially exceeded by writing on walls (houses) ‘For Sale,” he alleged.
Speaking further, he claimed that the German national willfully rented their homes when they were evicted.
He discredited Mr Diedrich proves of owning the land by saying he (Diedrich) obtained agricultural lease from the department of land while he never practices anything related to agriculture.
“We (Tranquil residents) had residential land usage while Bernd was granted agricultural lease,” he claimed and added that “Tranquil is no long an agricultural site but residence.
In 2012, a Court ruled that Mr Diedrich is legal owner of the land and evicted the residents.
However, the residents filed a petition to former President Jammeh that led the former government to establish an investigation panel comprised the Gambia Police Forces, Ministry of Justice and the Department of Lands.
After six months of investigation the Department of Physical Planning ordered the residents to return to their home while Mr Diedrich was evicted.
However, in 2017 the group received another eviction notice from the Sheriff Division that they should leave their residences again. This led to another controversy between the residents and the Court as they vowed not to move an inch.