Mayor Bensouda Dismisses November Protest For Bakoteh Dumpsite Relocation As “Not A Community Protest”

Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda of Kanifing.

By Makutu Manneh

The mayor of the Kanifing Municipal Council, Talib Ahmed Bensouda, has dismissed a November 2025 demonstration calling for the relocation of the Bakoteh dumpsite, describing it as politically driven and unrepresentative of the surrounding community.

“I am not worried about the campaign against the Bakoteh dumpsite,” Mr. Bensouda said in recent remarks. “I know the characters, I have met them, I have seen their actions, and I know their motivations.”

Mr. Bensouda said he could distinguish between genuine community concerns and what he called a “fabricated” protest. He noted that he lives in Bakoteh and is familiar with the concerns of residents in nearby Manjai and Dippa Kunda. He added that his electoral support in those neighborhoods reflected public approval of how the municipality has managed the dumpsite. “I know all their concerns, and I have actually won huge margins in those areas because of how we have been managing the Bakoteh Dumpsite,” he said.

The Bakoteh facility, he said, presents a longstanding and complex challenge. Established more than three decades ago, it has served as the main disposal site for municipal waste for years. “This is no child’s play,” the mayor said, arguing that successive governments have struggled to find a permanent solution.

Kanifing, he said, operates a single centralized dumpsite, which he described as the most organized and best resourced in the country. He cited infrastructure improvements including fencing, concrete access roads, recycling sheds, sanitation facilities, solar lighting, and security systems.

“Only KMC has this, and it is because of my intervention and my vision to ensure that this place is upgraded,” Mr. Bensouda said, while acknowledging that the ultimate goal remained the complete relocation of the site.

Mr. Bensouda recalled that in 2018 he had taken President Adama Barrow to the dumpsite to seek support for relocation efforts. When no immediate assistance materialized and persistent fires continued at the site until 2020, he said the council opted to invest its own resources to fence the area and reduce risks.

He said the council later partnered with SOS and secured a grant from the German government to fund further improvements, including access roads, green zones for carbon capture, recycling facilities, and sanitation blocks. Additional support from the European Union, he said, made it possible to construct a second recycling shed, and new recycling machines have recently arrived.

“Now we have recycling machines that have just arrived. So we have done a huge amount of efforts,” he said. 

The comments followed a protest held in November 2025 by a group calling itself Gambia First, which gathered at the Bakoteh dumpsite demanding its immediate closure and relocation. Protesters cited years of exposure to smoke, garbage, and foul odors, saying the dumpsite posed serious health and environmental risks to nearby residents.

While acknowledging the long-standing challenges posed by the site, Mr. Bensouda maintained that his administration had made significant progress in mitigating its impact, even as broader, long-term solutions remain unresolved.