Security Raid Destroys Cannabis Farms in Jinack, Sparking Outcry Over Livelihoods and Neglect

By Makutu Manneh

Armed men believed to be security officers on Saturday entered the island communities of Jinack Kajatta and Jinack Niggi, setting fire to cannabis farms on the outskirts of the villages in what residents described as a sudden enforcement operation.

Villagers said the men, dressed in plain clothes and carrying weapons, did not identify themselves. Many residents suspect the officers were from the Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the Gambia Police Force, though officials had not publicly confirmed the operation at the time of reporting.

The destruction of the farms has stirred anger and anxiety in the remote island communities, where many families rely on cannabis cultivation as their primary source of income. Residents say they were engaged in discussions with authorities about transitioning away from cannabis farming when the enforcement action occurred.

“There have been talks about alternatives,” one villager said, “but before anything concrete was agreed, armed men showed up and burned everything.”

Community members said the operation began between 7 and 8 a.m., with officers targeting farms located in nearby forested areas. Youths in the villages later blocked attempts by the men to enter deeper into the settlements, according to residents Alagie Bojang and Lamin Bojang.

Their chief concern, they said, is survival. “If the government stops cannabis farming here, what will be the source of income for the villagers?” they asked, adding that the communities have remained largely crime-free despite the longstanding cultivation of the crop.

Alagie Sonko, an elder in Jinack Niggi, urged the government to provide viable alternatives before dismantling what he described as an “ancestral livelihood.” Destroying the farms without replacement income, he said, would leave families destitute.

Modou Manneh of Jinack Kajatta said village leaders from both communities had outlined proposals for alternative livelihoods and planned to present them to the Seyfo, or district chief, before news spread that enforcement officers were on their way. He added that most social amenities in the villages have been provided by philanthropists rather than the state.

Another resident, Modou Jallow, echoed the frustration, saying that despite decades of voting and paying taxes, the island has seen little government investment. Villagers cited the lack of reliable transportation, electricity, and clean water as evidence of what they describe as long-standing neglect since independence.

Cannabis cultivation in Jinack is widely known in The Gambia and dates back to the era of the country’s first president, Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara. Residents argue that the island’s sandy soil is poorly suited for traditional cash crops such as groundnuts and rice, leaving cannabis as what many call the only viable “survival crop.”

Even so, community leaders insist they are not opposed to change. “We are ready to transition,” one resident said. “But we need realistic alternatives. We cannot survive on promises alone.”