Communities in Sami District decry persisting stealing of more than 200 sheep

Several communities in Central River Region’s Sami District have denounced the disappearance of more than 200 of their sheep, suspected to have been stolen by thieves who will take them into Senegal and sell them there.

From Kibiri to Changai and from Kalem to Demfai and other villages in the district, residents say they are now rearing their animals for the thieves and called on authorities to strengthen security in the area.

Thirty sheep were reported to have been stolen from the village of Sinchu Alhagie Jatta Bah and some of them were recovered in a Senegalese village of Baity six days later with two already missing.   

According to them, they only experience such rampant stealing during the dry season when the Senegalese nomads are permitted to enter The Gambia. “Even if this nomads are paying tax to the government, we are losing more than what they pay to government because they always say that they pay money to the government and no one will stop them from entering the country,” one of them said.

Samba Bah of Kibiri and many others said their sheep are usually stolen in groups in one day but only during the dry season when the Senegalese herders will come to The Gambia, saying when they are stealing the sheep, they will take away even the baby lambs.

The people of the area called on the government to help them stop the thieves from coming into The Gambia before matter lead to misunderstanding between Gambia and Senegal, saying even when they go in search of their lost animals in Senegal, they always encounter problems.