The community of Berending in the Kombo South District, West Coast Region (WCR), have pleaded with the government to lift the embargo on land they claim to legally own, after a court ruling.
The said area was a subject of dispute between Berending and the Darboe Kunda clan of Gunjur. According to the villagers, both the high and appeal courts ruled in 2013 and 2016 respectively that the area in question was owned by Kartong village and ceded to them (Kombo Berending) by the owners decades ago.
Abdoulie Sanyang, the Alkalo of Berending, said his village had engaged relevant authorities in a dialogue but the discussions yielded no fruitful results, adding that they (the villagers) were not informed about any decision of placing embargo on their land by the government.
Ousman Jammeh, Public Relations Officer of the village, said most of the village land “is currently under embargo” placed by the authorities.
He stated in a press conference held at Kombo Berending on Saturday: “About 75% of the land area, belonging to Berending is under embargo and we were never informed about the implementation of the embargo. The authorities claim that the restricted area is in dispute. They [the authorities] wrote to us that they would demarcate a new boundary between us and the Darboe Kunda family. We are asking: old border or no border, why would the government place an embargo on a historic and legally owned land?”
Berending VDC Chairman Ousman Jatta and women representative Mariatou Jatta both urged and pleaded with the government to support their cause and rescue them from the situation they are currently faced with, saying “the situation is holding back the community’s development”.
It would be recalled that a Gunjur native Buba Jammeh was shot dead by a Berending native Buba Drammeh in 2019 following a land dispute between Berending and the Sawo Kunda clan of Gunjur.
