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Momodou
Denmark
11792 Posts |
 Posted - 16 Apr 2015 : 12:42:19
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LAND DISPUTES ON THE RISE WILL THE LAND COMMISSION BE IMPARTIAL AND INDEPENDENT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Foroyaa Editorial: Published on April 15, 2015
A happily married industrious man, in his overall outfit, walked into the Foroyaa with blood shot eyes to find out where he could turn to for salvation. He has legal papers showing that he has bought a piece of land in Jabang. He has a sketch plan showing where the land is located. He and the wife devoted time energy and resources to the task of clearing a forest with snakes to establish a home for his children. Every decent person considers hard work to earn a living.
This young family should have been a model for those who wish to prove that industriousness could pay Now both husband and wife are in tears because of a demolition exercise which emerged from a land dispute which is yet to be decided by a court.
The man was referred to a lawyer but he claims to lack the means to pay any legal cost after spending all his earnings to build a solid building in the woods.
What is the role of a state to such people? Who is to protect them? Who will wipe their tears? Who will reward their hand work?
Foroyaa will contact the village head and the physical planning office to get answers to vexed questions. The state should protect its honest and hardworking citizens.
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11792 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2015 : 09:03:53
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Alkalo Of Jabang On the Demolition of Shiekh Njie’s House
By Sailu Bah
Foroyaa: Published on April 23, 2015
The Alkalo of Jabang, Pa Ebrima Colley, said in an interview with this paper that Sheikh Njie is the rightful owner of a piece of land that was demolished on 10 March by the authorities.
Alkalo Kolley said he was not informed about the demolition of Sheick Njie’s house, but learned about it after the exercise was conducted.
“There is a Man behind all these problems who claims that it is his land, but the land is rightfully owned by Sheick Njie because it was allocated to him by my self,” he explained.
He said after the demolition of Sheick Njie’s house he, the Alkalo with some elders, went to Physical planning to tell them about what had happened to Shiekh Njie’s but according to him they were directed to the permanent secretary ministry of Lands to discuss the issue. He said the permanent secretary told them that he is not aware of the Demolition.
He remarked, “The Permanent Secretary ministry of Lands told me to write everything that happened which I did.
Shiekh Njie, who came to Foroyaa’s offices on Tuesday 14 April 2015, to lodge a complaint said he acquired the land from the Alaklo of Jabang 9 years ago and it was demolished on Tuesday 10 March 2015, by people who claim to be from Physical planning accompanied by some security officers. According to Sheikh it is now 43 days since he and his family were thrown out of their compound and are now living with some neighbours which he said is making them uncomfortable.
“One Sainey Colley claimed to be the owner of the Land,” he explained.
“I was confused, I did not know what to do, so I called all authorities such as the area council as well as the Governor of West Coast Region, but all of them said that they are not aware of it,” he explained.
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11792 Posts |
Posted - 13 May 2015 : 21:17:22
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Lower Niumi Court members survey disputed farm land
By Sailu Bah
Foroyaa: Published on May 13, 2015
 The court members of the Lower Niumi District Tribunal yesterday 12 May 2015 Alkali Bala Mannehvisited the disputed farmland claimed by the Alkalo of Maka Village, Balla Manneh.
Balla Manneh has sued Ebou Jobe a resident of Ndungu Kebbeh to the Lower Numi District for felling the cashew trees planted on his farmland.
During the proceedings of 23 April 2015 Balla Manneh testified that he has title to the land on which the cashew trees were grown and has been in possession of it since the year 2000 when the then tribunal affirmed his title to the suit land.
In his testimony, while acknowledging that he did fell the cashew trees, the defendant Ebou Jobe told the tribunal that he owns the land on which the cashew trees are planted.
The District Tribunal, presided over by Fabakary Nana Sonko, directed that a task force goes to survey the suit land on which the cashew trees were planted.
On Tuesday 13 May 2015, a task force of three, appointed by the tribunal, converged at the suit land at Maka Village to determine whether the suit land belongs to Balla Manneh or not. Elders from Maka village and Ndungu Kebbeh also converged at the scene to serve as witnesses of both parties.
Upon conclusion of their survey which took a couple of hours, Kebba Demba, the head of the task force said they have checked everything on the suit land; that they will give the chief feedback and that the matter will be dealt with by the Tribunal in its next sitting.
Some elders from Maka village said the land is allocated for the community for Pastoral Farming, but claimed that their Alkalo uses it for his personal farming. The Alkalo denied using any land allocated for pastoral farming, while asserting that the land is his own land. He showed the task force land beside the suit land which said is allocated and has been used all these years for pastoral farming. There was heated argument between the Alkalo and some village elders.
Kebba Demba, head of the task force, told them that they are not there to make judgment but to conduct a survey and make recommendations. He advised them to come to the tribunal to lay their complaints.
The Tribunal will proceed on Thursday 14 May 2015 at Essau, Lower Niumi. |
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11792 Posts |
Posted - 15 May 2015 : 19:45:05
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Maka Alkalo's land dispute case proceeds
By Sailu Bah
Foroyaa: Published on May 15, 2015
The land dispute case between Balla Manneh, the Alkalo of Maka village, and Ebou Jobe, the defendant, proceeded at the Lower Nuimi District Tribunal in Essau on Thursday, 14 May, 2015.
This was after the Chief of Lower Nuimi, who is also the Chairman of the District Tribunal, had assigned three of his court members to visit and survey the land in dispute in Maka village on Tuesday, 12 May 2015.
Chief Sonko, the Tribunal Chair, asked the head of the delegation Kebba Demba, to tell them the result of the survey. Mr. Demba said they have done the survey and found out that the cashew trees that were cut were on the land given to Ebou Jobe by the court. He added that no cashew tree was found cut down in the Alkalo¡¦s land.
This report was also confirmed by Mustapha Ceesay, another member of the team that was tasked by the tribunal to survey the said land.
Chief Sonko reminded that Mr. Jobe, the accused, during the first sitting, confirmed that he was the one who cut the 228 cashew trees that were planted by Mr. Manneh, the Alkalo.
At this juncture, the 5 tribunal members, including the Chairman, had a side discussion for a minute. Later, the Tribunal Chairperson announced that the case is adjourned for judgment which is set for Thursday, 28 May 2015.
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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toubab1020
12314 Posts |
Posted - 16 May 2015 : 14:50:46
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Again,an unfortunate trait which many Gambians seem to suffer from, they are UNABLE to make a decision swiftly,preferring that over a period of time the matter will just go away and will be forgotten by everyone involved,or MAYBE settled in another Gambian way  .
[quote]Originally posted by Momodou
[b]Maka Alkalo's land dispute case proceeds
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"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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Edited by - toubab1020 on 16 May 2015 14:52:20 |
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Momodou
Denmark
11792 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jun 2015 : 08:08:42
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CONTROVERSY OVER MAKA LAND RAGES ON
By Muhammed Sailu Bah
Foroyaa: Published on June 3, 2015
North Bank Region Livestock Chairman Ebrima Bah and a resident of Maka village Ousman Ceesay on Thursday 28 May 2015, appeared before the Lower Nuimi district Tribunal in Essau with a complaint against the Alkalo of Maka Village, Balla Manneh. This case comes just after judgment was delivered in a case involving the alkalo.
The claim of the complainants at the tribunal presided over by Fabakary Nana Sonko, the Chief of Lower Nuimi, is that Balla Manneh pulled down two pillars that were erected by the Village development committee and recommended by the Livestock Association’s chairman. These erected pillars indicate the boundary for pasture for the livestock grazing in that area.
According to the two complainants, 10 pillars were erected and two of them were destroyed. They added that they are sure that they were destroyed by Alkalo Balla Manneh because they were found close to his land.
At that juncture the Tribunal asked the defendant whether he is the one who did it and he responded in the negative. The tribunal then asked Ebrima Bah whether he would like to testify on oath but he declined to do so. But Mr Ousman Ceesay the second complainant agreed to testify on oath when asked.
The Alkalo of Maka, Balla Manneh also agreed to testify on oath.
In his testimony, Ebrima told the Tribunal that he and the Former Chairman of the NBR livestock Association Samba Gibbi together with some villagers including Ousman Ceesay and Mustapha Ceesay a representative of the Chief of Lower Nuimi went to the village of Maka to conduct a survey to demarcate an area to be used for livestock grazing. He added that they met the Alkalo.
He said upon completion of the survey they erected pillars to indicate the boundary of the land but then he was suddenly informed by his representative at Maka that two of the pillars were pulled down by the Alkalo of Maka. He said that this shows that the Alkalo was undermining the decisions made by both the Chief and the livestock committee.
When asked whether the information given to him was true Ebrima answered in the negative. He went on to say that their association is represented by three members in each village, including Maka. He was asked to name those representatives, but he was able to name only one person to the tribunal as Ousman Ceesay. The tribunal members told him that it is very disappointing for him not to be able to name his members with whom he claims to work with.
At this stage, the tribunal asked the defendant Alkalo Manneh to narrate his side of the story. The Alkalo denied bringing down any pillar. He said these people have a personal issue in taking his lands just in the name of creating a pathway for cattle grazing. He told the tribunal that for more than 50 years Maka was having a pathway for cattle grazing which he said is 74 metres wide and the cattle were using that without any problem, but now he said they want to take his lands that he has been using for farming for the past fifteen years.
The Alkalo said he did not pull down any pillar, stressing that “whether I lose my land or not I will not pull down any pillar for historical reasons.”
The tribunal then asked the Alkalo of Maka, “How old are you”? The Alkalo said 63 years.
The Tribunal then asked the Alkalo “When did you have your own land?” The Alkalo said “I had my own land in 1966.” The Tribunal said that is 49 years ago and he concurred.
The Tribunal asked the Alkalo: “Where were you farming since then and what have you done for your village?”
The Alkalo replied: “Where I was farming, there was a time that my village needed land to build a school, I identified a place in my land measuring 250 metres by 400 metres and they built a primary school there. This school is used by all children within that area. Again land was needed to build a health facility I later measured another portion of my own land 200 metres by 100 metres which is 2 hectares for it to be used to build a health facility. I also measured from my own land one hectare to be used as a reserved land for an Arabic school in the future. Then later I went to the land that was given to me by two Chiefs, the Chiefs of Lower Nuimi and Jokadu in the year 2000. I started to farm on the land until now that Ousman Ceesay, a native of Maka village and Ebrima Bah Chairman of the North Bank Region Livestock Association said they will take my land for Pastoral Farming which they called LAPOL.
The Alkalo asked Ebrima Bah: “You are now an old man, if you are given a farm that has been used by people for so many years, shouldn’t you ask for the location of the pastoral land used for grazing by the livestock? Ebrima Bah kept silent.
The Alkalo told the court that for 11 years he was using the farm for rotational farming, cultivating groundnuts one year, millet on another and so on. The Alkalo then asked Ebrima Bah whether he asked where the livestock were grazing for the past 11 years but the question was not answered.
The Alkalo further said that the Livestock were using other lands for grazing and pathway. The Alkalo added that some years ago two of Ousman Ceesay’s Uncles Alh Ebrima Camara and Alhassan Joof cleared land which was designated by the committee as reserved land for livestock grazing, but when the Members of the Tribunal came for a survey on the farms, all of them refused to go and check the land that was cleared for the animals to use as a pathway because of their intention of wanting to seize my land with their powers for no reason.
The Alkalo told the tribunal that “If you can remember that whatever land I had, I gave all to my villagers for developmental purposes, and this is the only land I am left with for me and my family to farm on and have a better livelihood.”
The court tasked Ebrima to go and confirm whether the pillars are pulled down or not. The Tribunal as well said it will send a task force to confirm whether the pillars are pulled down or not.
At that juncture the tribunal asked both the complainants and defendant to bring all their witnesses in the next proceedings. The tribunal was adjourned till 4 June 2015. |
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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toubab1020
12314 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jun 2015 : 11:49:02
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I should have thought that before beginning any form of enquiry into the allegations the central point would have been to establish by the tribunal IF INDEED THE PILLARS HAD BEEN PULLED DOWN ,as explained in the second posting in this topic "This was after the Chief of Lower Nuimi, who is also the Chairman of the District Tribunal, had assigned three of his court members to visit and survey the land in dispute in Maka village on Tuesday, 12 May 2015."
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"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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Edited by - toubab1020 on 04 Jun 2015 11:51:15 |
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Momodou
Denmark
11792 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jun 2015 : 13:36:15
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Maka Alkalo fined D6000 for using disputed land
By Muhammed Sailu Bah
Foroyaa: Published on June 13, 2015
 The Lower Nuimi District Tribunal in Essau on Thursday 11 June 2015 fined the “Alkalo” of Maka village the sum of D6000 for Balla Manneh two offences related to land in his village.
He was fined D5000 for using Maka village land and obstructing livestock from using it as pathway. He was fined another D1000 for pulling down 2 pillars erected by the Village Development Committee. The complainants claim that the land was designated as pathway for livestock but the defendant Alkalo claim that the land is his property. He also denied that he pulled down two of the erected pillars. The findings of the tribunal are that he pulled down the pillars and the land was designated as pathway for livestock.
It was not clear whether or not the trial was criminal because of lack of adherence to the procedures of the Criminal Procedure Code. However, from the pronouncements of the tribunal it seems the case was treated as a criminal case.
The Tribunal was presided over by Fabakary Nana Sonko Chief of Lower Nuimi, and included five court members.
The Judgment was read on behalf of the Tribunal by Sanna Sonko. According to the judgment, the tribunal has listened to all parties as well as all witnesses who came to testify.
Sanna Sonko said, “Today is your Judgment and is the third time we have sittings on this matter and the court after listening to both parties as well as witnesses has found the accused person Guilty and the court based it on the following reasons.
1.All witnesses testified on Oath.
2.We know that the Plaintiffs Ousman Ceesay is a native of Maka village, Ebrima Bah is the Chairman of the Livestock Farmers Association and Balla Manneh the Plaintiff is the Alkalo of Maka village.
3.We also understand that during the Demarcation of the Land Balla Manneh the accused was present, the two ‘plaintiffs’ and other members of the village as well as representatives from the Chief of Lower Nuimi. And also the Pathway that was demarcated was an old way for Livestock used as a pathway in reaching the main bush.
4.The plaintiffs brought witnesses but the Accused Balla Manneh never brought any.
5.We also know that the Livestock Association in close collaboration with the Village Development Committee of Maka Village erected Pillars and the 2 pillars that were pulled down were found at the Alkalo’s Farm (the Accused).
6.The pathway is for the benefit of everyone and we are not looking at a person’s interest but the interest of all.
7.Pastoral Farming is part of agriculture and agriculture is the backbone of the economy of our country and it comprises different aspects which include animal rearing. This is of great concern and will never be compromised.
“Balla is found guilty and we will give Balla a chance to plead for mercy before we announce the sentence.”
Balla then told the tribunal that the only thing he is appealing to the tribunal to do is to return the land back to him for him to be using it for farming. He added that the land was given to him by 2 chiefs in the year 2000.
Balla further requested for a copy of the Judgment from the tribunal to facilitate his appeal to the high court but the tribunal refused pointing out that they will not give him a copy of the Judgment unless it is requested by a high court, when he (Balla) appeals. The tribunal reiterated that their Judgment stands and Balla has to abide by it.
The Tribunal told Balla that hence forth the Law has taken the land from you for the Livestock to use as a pathway.
At this stage the Tribunal pronounced a fine of D5000 or in default to serve 5 months in prison for using the land. The Tribunal further ordered the payment of a fine of D1000 for pulling down the pillars to be used for re-erecting the pillars in default to serve one month in prison.
The court further ordered that the fines be paid on the spot, and warned Balla not to use the land anymore, likewise any other person in the village. The Tribunal said the Land is mainly for livestock to be used as a pathway.
The Tribunal said if by any chance Balla has used the land the Law will take its due course and the Tribunal will further question Balla’s capabilities of being a leader or an Alkalo.
Balla at that Juncture told the Tribuanl he wants to plead for mercy on the fine, but the Tribunal told Balla that it is late. Later Balla’s elder sister Fatou Manneh pleaded to the members of the Tribunal on behalf of Balla for them to give her time to pay the Money on Monday 15 June 2015, but The tribunal refused. The Tribunal later issued a warrant of arrest for Balla to be taken to Barra police station.
Balla was later escorted to the Barra police station by two of the Tribunal security personnel. Later a Family member paid the fine for Balla and he was released.
This case arose on the heels of a case in which Balla complained to the same tribunal that Ebou Jobe fell the cashew trees that he cultivated on his land. Ebou Jobe, while admitting that he felled down the cashew trees claimed that the land belonged to him. Even though the tribunal fined him D3000 they gave Jobe title to the land.
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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toubab1020
12314 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jun 2015 : 16:54:56
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"The Tribunal told Balla that hence forth the Law has taken the land from you for the Livestock to use as a pathway.
At this stage the Tribunal pronounced a fine of D5000 or in default to serve 5 months in prison for using the land. The Tribunal further ordered the payment of a fine of D1000 for pulling down the pillars to be used for re-erecting the pillars in default to serve one month in prison.
The court further ordered that the fines be paid on the spot, and warned Balla not to use the land anymore, likewise any other person in the village. The Tribunal said the Land is mainly for livestock to be used as a pathway.
The Tribunal said if by any chance Balla has used the land the Law will take its due course and the Tribunal will further question Balla’s capabilities of being a leader or an Alkalo."
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Super, LOCAL Gambian JUSTICE WORKS,and is fully understood by the local population (my opinion!)however it takes a VERY long time,(OK so does the recognised JUSTICE systems adopted by many other countries that are more developed than The Gambia!!)Much thought and investigation has gone into this "dispute" investigated by the Lower Nuimi District Tribunal in Essau,some things COULD have been acertained quicker,but this was a learning curve for the members of the tribunal.
They are to be congradulated in the way that the "dispute" was handled,full marks.
I am sure the new Chief Justice Fagbenle has taken note of this work and given it much thought. |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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LAND DISPUTES ON THE RISE WILL THE LAND COMMISSION
