At a press conference on Tuesday, victims of the demolition exercise at Salagi Layout voiced their outrage and demanded justice, accusing the government of a glaring lack of compassion and transparency. In contrast, the Ministry of Lands, Regional Government & Religious Affairs, along with Physical Planning, defended the demolitions as a crucial measure to reclaim public space.
At yesterday's press conference, the victims asserted that the Salagi lands were ‘unlawfully’ taken from them by the government, as proper procedures were not followed. They emphasised that the government should not destroy their homes after they have invested all their savings into building those modest compounds.
Representing the victims, Cherno B. Cham expressed deep concern over the hardships inflicted on the affected families due to the demolition exercise. He asked poignant questions: “Is it just to forcibly seize the land of impoverished citizens and hand it over to the wealthy? Do we, the less fortunate, not have the right to own a piece of land? Is this the democracy we cast our votes for?”
Cham added: “The land we possess is a legacy passed down from our ancestors, having been in our family since the era of our great-grandparents. However, with a significant decline in farming activity in the Kombos, we made the decision to divide the land in 1997. Some chose to cultivate their own plots, while others opted to lease theirs to individuals who wished to farm.”
“A remaining portion of land sparked concern when my brothers, Omar and Ousman Bojang, informed me that work was being done on it. Upon visiting the site, I discovered that the workers were sent there by Gibbi Jallow from Gamgas.”
“We requested Gibbi's contact number, and after locating it from the container, I reached out to him. In our conversation, Gibbi claimed that the late chief of Kombo North, Eric Tunde Janneh, had allocated the land to him,” he said.
Cham said further: “When I subsequently contacted Eric to discuss my conversation with Gibbi, he confirmed that he had indeed allocated the land to Gibbi Jallow. I pointed out that the land in question rightfully belongs to our family, but Eric insisted that the land he allocated belongs to Cham Kunda (Jamba Kunda).”
