TENSION BREWING AGAIN IN GUNJUR, BERENDING LAND DISPUTE
Tension around a long running land dispute between neighbours Gunjur and Berending in Kombo South is brewing up again with both sides holding rival press conferences claiming to be the legitimate owners of the land in question.
Seven years ago, clashes broke out between the two communities resulting in the death of one Buba Jammeh from Gunjur Jammeh Kunda.
Following the tensions, the government constituted a task force to look into the matter and provide recommendations. The task force has since completed its work but most of its recommendations including a proposed demarcation of a new boundary are yet to be put into action.
Residents of Berending recently held a press conference where they reportedly opposed a proposal for a new boundary between the villages arguing the recommendations came from a body led by former Lands Permanent Secretary Buba Sanyang who is a native of Gunjur and therefore deemed impartial.
Ousman K Jammeh, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Berending VDC, said the dispute involves only certain individuals from Gunjur Darboe Kunda, not the entire Gunjur community and 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,” he said.
Jammeh accused Gunjur Darboe Kunda of attempting to use other family members to reopen the case after exhausting all legal options with the courts consistently ruling that the disputed land belonged to Kartong village which allocated it to Berending.
“Our sketch plans clearly outlined boundaries, keys, scales, and roads connecting neighbouring villages. Additionally, all surrounding villages are indicated in our sketch plan, further confirming their accuracy. Based on this evidence, the judge authenticated our plans and affirmed that the land was rightfully given to Berending by Kartong,” the Berending VDC spokesman Jammeh said.
However yesterday, the people of Gunjur convened a press conference to express dismay over government’s inaction on the recommendations.
The Village Development Committee chairman, Tijani Bojang, said his committee is very concerned that a number of the task force’s recommendations are still not implemented despite several follow up trips to the relevant government institutions.
He alleged that despite the government’s directive for both parties to refrain from tampering with the disputed land, Berending is actually selling plots from the land.
“We don’t know how they are getting the documents,” Bojang said.
On the recommendation for a new border to be demarcated between the two villages, the VDC chairman said they feel that government is not fully committed to doing that.
“We have made several visits to the ministry of lands and they kept saying that there are funding constraints and recently they promised the process will begin by February but we are yet to see any progress,” chairman Bojang said.
He claimed that the Department of Lands had made it clear to them that they are the rightful owners of the land in question and that the government will do the needful.
Asked about the reported threats of Berending to protect and defend the land in question by all means, Chairman Bojang replied: “We are telling them the land in question belong to us. That is what the government accepts, and that is what the law says. These people attacked us and killed one of our people. We are still distressed by that and so we will not sit and allow people to deal with our properties any way they want. Let government act to avoid tension. Let them address the smoke before it turns in to fire.”
Bojang made it clear that it is not the entire Berending that is involved in this trouble but one Buba Drammeh, who he claims is behind all these.
He added that the land in question belong to the Jammeh Kunda, Darboe Kunda and other Kabilos’, adding that the people of Berending have no say over them.
“We gave them our land for settlement and if they want more land, they should come back to us, and not tamper with our land on their own,” Chairman Bojang warned.
Calls for calm and restraint
However, Alkalo Dembo Darboe of Gunjur has called for calm and restraint.
“Let no one take the law into his hands. Let us wait for government to address our grievances,” the alkalo said, while lamenting the delay in the implementation of the task force report.
“The delay is causing uncertainties for my people, that is why they convened this press conference to remind the government to do the needful to avoid further escalation,” Alkalo Darboe said.
Source: The Standard
