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.
