By: Isatou Sarr
Victims of the ongoing Sukuta-Salagi land dispute held a powerful press conference on Thursday, April 10, 2025, at their Sukuta-Salagi community, voicing their frustration and deep disappointment over what they describe as gross injustices involving officials from the Department of Physical Planning and members of the Gambia Police Force.
Speaking through tears, Mariama Bojang, a single mother of seven, shared her heartbreaking story explaining “I’ve spent years building my home, brick by brick, selling ice to make ends meet. Now, my house has been demolished by Physical Planning. I have nowhere to go—my children and I are staying with my sister who is also struggling. I lost everything.”
For Mariama, her home represented safety, stability, and the fruit of hard labor. Now, she is among the many who say their ancestral lands have been taken unjustly.
Alhagie Momodou Morrow Bojang of the Kenebaring Kabilo, added critical historical context to the dispute.
He explained “This land has been in our family for generations. In 1997, we formally divided it among ourselves. Some continued farming, while others leased their portions out. Years later, we discovered unknown workers on the land claiming they were sent by Gibbi Jallow of Gamgas.”
Upon confronting them, Bojang said he learned that the late Chief of Kombo North, Eric Tunde Janneh, had allegedly allocated the land to Gibbi Jallow without consulting or informing the Bojang family.
“When I challenged Chief Janneh, he claimed the land belonged to Cham Kunda (Jamba Kunda), not our family. But we have historical ties to this land,” he said.
In 2019, a six-man investigative panel was formed—including senior government and police officials. However, Bojang claims the family was never given access to the final report, and their representative was excluded from signing it.
“We went to the Ministry of Lands and were referred to the police. The police said their job was just to investigate and submit the report they couldn’t give us a copy,” he claimed.
Efforts to resolve the dispute through successive government officials including former Ministers Aki Bayo, Lamin Waa Juwara, and Lamin Ndambun Dibba proved futile. It wasn’t until 2024 that the family managed to obtain a leaked copy of the panel report. What they found shocked them.
“The report exposed massive misconduct by government officials,” Bojang said. “Many of them had acquired lands in Salagi for themselves, and even allocated plots to their relatives, friends, and colleagues.”
He went on to list several high-profile names allegedly involved in the illegal acquisition of land, including senior officials from the Ministries of Local Government, Lands, Fisheries, and the Gambia Police Force.
At the press conference, victims questioned the state of justice and democracy in The Gambia.
“Is it fair to forcefully take land from the poor and give it to the wealthy? Don’t we have the right to own land too? Is this the democracy we voted for?” they quarried.
The Sukuta-Salagi land victims are calling for transparency, accountability, and equal land rights for all Gambians—regardless of social or economic status.
