By Buba Gagigo
Sheriffo Ebrima Sabally, the Alkalo of Kassa Kunda village, asserts that the majority of villagers support him, emphasizing that a few individuals are causing issues due to personal interests.
Sabally expresses surprise at some villagers’ reluctance to accept his leadership. He highlights his non-contentious ascension to the Alkalo role, appointed by the government without seeking the position himself. Sabally notes that any claims of forceful imposition are baseless and urges dissenting individuals to approach the government if they dispute his appointment.
“My father, Alpha Illo Sabally is the founder of Kassa Kunda, and he’s the one I inherited from. But I am a little bit surprised that some people in the village said they don’t need me. My surprise is, Why can’t they accept me? Because I like all of them and have respected all of them from the start. Kassa Kunda is not divided, we are one, and it is a peaceful village. I did not force myself to be Alkalo; instead, I was selected by the government. I have never looked for any position in this village, and if I were given the Alkalo position in a forceful way, I wouldn’t have accepted it. But they want to bring problems and sidetalks that are not useful,” the Alkalo said.
They also claim a few individuals are making dangerous statements against him, saying he doesn’t have anything against anybody in the village.
“They are making a lot of dangerous statements, and I have never belittled or insulted anyone since I became Alkalo. Why will anyone belittle me? Sometimes I ask myself why. One of them is Momodou Jawo who made himself commander of Kassa Kunda. I have heard what he said about me. He said we used to eat in the same basin; he said we have done everything together since childhood; and he said I am his brother, but why will you criticize your own brother and say bad things about him? I have never mentioned or criticized him anywhere. But it doesn’t surprise me. I did not borrow, buy or lobby for the Alkalo position, it was given to me by God through the government. Let them go to the government if they don’t like my appointment,” the Alkalo said.
Sabally insisted that the village’s tranquility was disrupted by a handful of jealous individuals, citing their opposition to his leadership as driven by personal agendas. Despite calls for the reinstatement of the former Alkalo, Sabally maintained that he would not step down, emphasizing that his appointment was sanctioned by the government.
“This village is peaceful, but they don’t want that peace to continue. Is just one person, and he is just jealous of me because he’s looking for something that he will never get. Even if the world comes to an end, he will never be Alkalo, and it is not even between me and him. There’s no one in Kassa Kunda who will accept him as an Alkalo. Everyone knows that, and they will not allow him to come close to them. He is forcing himself to become Alkalo, but that will never happen as long as we are alive,” he said.
“How can you throw away stuff and take it back and put it in your mouth? People should be mindful because the world will end one day. They are just talking, but they will never act. Always make a statement that you will be able to repeat anywhere. The old Alkalo is my brother, I don’t have anything against him unless he has. He says things because there are people behind him talking, but he’s my brother. I will not insult him or say anything bad, but what I know is he cannot do anything,” the Alkalo said.
Sissaho Sabally, son of the village founder, Illo Sabally, shed light on allegations against the Village Development Committee (VDC). He accused the committee of pursuing its interests by selling village lands and raised concerns about transparency in reporting land sales. Sabally revealed disparities between reported amounts and actual land sale transactions.
“It is not a surprise to us (the problem with the VDC) because they said it before today. For more than a year, they are still holding on to the same thing. They are following the former Alkalo for their own interests; he gave them our lands to sell. VDC is for village developments, but in our village, they go to the Alkalo, and he gave them our lands to sell. The same people are VDC; the same people sell the lands, the same people buy, the same people do development activities, and they don’t report back to the Public. They don’t tell us the reality, even though they are going to report it. They have never shown us any receipts for land sales. They only say it verbally,” Mr Sabally said.
Mr. Sabally also revealed that they have made some discoveries that the amounts that VDC reported and the amount they are selling the lands for are not the same.
“They are only following the old Alkalo out of their interest because, since the appointment of the new Alkalo we haven’t experienced land sales. What triggered the current problem is that they sold lands without giving the buyers documents before the appointment of the new Alikalo; they recently came to the Alkalo for him to stamp the documents, and the Alkalo refused.
“That’s why they are angry and coming up with all these issues. The land buyers are on their necks, asking for their documents or their money, and they cannot provide them with the documents. Their job is to coordinate development activities, not Alkalo appointments. Why will VDC be involved in Alkalo appointment if they don’t have interest?” he asked.
Furthermore, Sissaho Sabally clarified recent legal proceedings involving the forestry department and the VDC. He emphasized that the court case was unrelated to the Alkalo position and involved a dispute over the community forest.
“Neither Sanna Sabally nor Sainey Sabally sue anyone. It was the forestry department and the forestry committee that sued the VDC. We all know the importance of forests. Forestry asked all the villages to develop a policy, and the same was extended to Kassa Kunda. It was Sabally Kunda Land that was given. All the public facilities in this village were allocated by Sabally Kunda because we are the founders of the village. The community forest is our land.
“They (VDC) said Sanyang Kunda sold their land that is not far from our forest. The buyer brought a grader to clear the place. They said the person clearing made a mistake and entered the community forest. Our community forest is 44 hectares, but they touched 33 hectares into the forest and claimed it was a mistake. The estate agents did their plotting and put their sign boards in the same place. Is that all a mistake? That was the reason the forestry department sued them in court, and that has nothing to do with the Alkalo position,” he concluded.
Lamin Njie, another supporter of the current Alkalo, attributed the controversy to a small group of individuals seeking personal gains through land sales. He reassured that the majority of Kassa Kunda residents stand behind the Alkalo and dismissed the involvement of certain names in land sale documents as baseless.
“Jallang and a few people are behind this problem, not the residents of Kassa Kunda. They just want to continue selling land that doesn’t belong to them. They were only here to sell our land. All the village is supporting the new Alkalo, this is just a ‘Vous’ (small group of people). Sanna and Sainey Sabally’s names have never appeared in any documents of Land sales. Unless it is put there by the Jinns. The residents of Kassa Kunda are with the Alkalo. It’s just a small number of people who were destroying and selling our land and spending the money anyway. But Alhamdulillah, a lot of people in Kassa Kunda have seen the truth now,” Lamin Njie said.