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The relay still signs. Part Two found it in the state's own record: the seyfo and the alkalo administer the land the state claims ownership of, and no transfer of it moves without their mark. The office that endorsed the Kombo Coastal Belt leases in 1970 endorses transfers today. It never stopped. Part One asked by what right the state claims the land. This essay asks the narrower question, the one that falls on the men whose mark moves the land. By what authority was their

By Dave Manneh, Securing Futures: Land Rights Action Collaborative (SFLRAC) August 10, 2026 On 22 and 23 July, at the DPPH hall on Marina Parade in Banjul, the Ministry of Lands convened a workshop on the legal review of The Gambia's land tenure and land administration laws. The consultant leading the review set out its purpose from the front of the room. The task, the slides said, is to 'harmonise and modernise' the statutes that govern land in The Gambia. Fragmentation acro

Here is the uncomfortable truth about coalitions: they are rarely built on friendship. They are built on arithmetic. UDP is not my political home. I do not support the party, and I am unlikely to support it in the future. That is precisely why I think this deserves to be said without partisan emotion. If UDP has walked away from the coalition talks because it refuses to surrender leadership, I think the party may have made the right calculation. Consider what we often miss wh

Legal Notice 2 of 1994, made under section 5(1) of the State Lands Act, carries two operative sentences and a schedule of boundaries. The second designates Kombo North, Kombo South and Kombo Central as State lands with effect from the first day of March 1994. It recites no purchase, no conquest, no inheritance and no consent. One page in the Gazette, and three districts changed landlords on paper. Part One set down the premise and its proof: the state asserted title to the la

Supporters of Mr. Edi M.O. Faal keep producing academic and professional credentials. We hear about degrees, bars admitted, 44 years of practice, ICSID filings, and international consulting. Those credentials are not the issue. Since this nomination surfaced, not one supporter has brought forward his judicial philosophy. Not one has cited his books. Not one has produced his articles in major legal and judiciary journals. A résumé is not jurisprudence. The Supreme Court does n

For the sake of GALA’s cause not the man — Omar Saibo Camara must resign ASAP

In The Gambia, outrage is dead. Accountability is buried. Who benefits while workers starve? President Adama Barrow can run for reelection one million times if he wants. The constitution today places no hard limit on his ambition. But the Gambian political environment teaches a different lesson. In Kerewan, a worker’s monthly wage dies by day ten. In Fajara, what many describe as the “mother of all residential estates” rises from the ground, built by a man who once lived in a

This essay is a scholarly research I conducted. It is merit-based and reflects my personal philosophical argument on the standards required for the Office of Chief Justice in a post-autocratic Gambia. My hope is that legal scholars in this country do not feel bamboozled or intimidated by criticism. This is the moment to set the record right. Constitutional recovery demands open debate, evidence, and principle. This is my contribution to that debate. Gambia’s incoming Chief Ju

Vertigo in Dakar: Musa Bassadi Jawara Chronicles Ousmane Sonko’s Vacillations — A Study in Astonishment and Amusement By Musa Bassadi Jawara Economist & Author For two years, a digital militia armed with insults, not arguments, has besmirched _Bintou’s Point Kerewan_ and its author for daring to tell an uncomfortable truth: that demagoguery is not governance, that slogans are not statecraft, and that Ousmane Sonko’s inexperienced cabal at the helm in Dakar would collide with

With due respect to Mayor Talib, I disagree with the assertion that the selection of a coalition flagbearer should completely disregard the size and strength of the constituent political parties. UMC Leader Talib Bensouda Any coalition built on mutual respect, fairness, and political reality cannot ignore the support base that each party brings to the table. It would be difficult to justify asking a party with over 200,000 supporters and a nationwide structure to join a coali

It is with great honor that I pay tribute to our living legend, Mr. Bubanding Bajo, a recent award recipient at the maiden Gunjur Sports Committee Awards Night. Mr. Bajo is widely admired for his beautiful smile, tireless work ethic, and unwavering commitment to football and community harmony. More than a football lover, he is a peacemaker, conflict resolver, and a strong discourager of sport hooliganism, always approaching challenges with friendliness and respect. His presen

By Musa Bassadi Jawara | Economist & Author | Bintou’s Point, Kerewan 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐮 𝐃𝐢𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐤𝐡𝐚𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐲𝐞 President of the Republic of Senegal Palais de la République Dakar, Senegal 24 May 2026 Dear Mr. President, The rupture between you and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has wounded you both to near mortality. But it is Senegal and the Senegalese people who will bleed in Himalayan pro

The recent assertion that the APRC government under former President Yahya Jammeh merely “faked” development projects to attract votes is not only unfortunate, but also deeply insulting to the intelligence and lived experiences of Gambians. No well-meaning citizen can simply ignore such reckless statements. It appears the President is either desperately struggling to communicate a convincing message to the Gambian people or deliberately attempting to mislead and manipulate th

The PASTEF Rupture and a Nation in Peril By Musa Bassadi Jawara I. PREAMBLE — ON VINDICATION Before the March 2024 elections, I wrote a sober, measured piece. One line only said Amadou Ba had the institutional edge. For that single sentence, PASTEF’s digital militia descended. I was called a liar, a relic, a mercenary of the old order. They mocked, doxxed, and damned. My inboxes overflowed with venom. My analysis, built on 30 years of watching Dakar politics, was dismissed as

By Musa Bassadi Jawara Mr. Tambadou, you forwarded your “Open Letter to Mustapha K. Darboe” dated May 18, 2026 to me directly. In the spirit of transparency and public accountability, I respond. The nation is entitled to more than one voice when matters of justice, reputation, and public trust collide. This is that response — professional, academic, and unflinching. The issues you raised in your letter, in their entirety, are presented as conclusions of fact. With respect, th

By Dave Manneh Securing Futures: Land Rights Action Collaborative (SFLRAC) One year ago, I wrote "Beyond Jammeh's Shadow: Elite Capture, Land Dispossession, and State Assets Underselling in the Supposed New Gambia." That piece argued that Mustapha K. Darboe's investigation in The Republic exposed more than a scandal over stolen luxury goods. It mapped a system that moves public and communal wealth into the hands of a connected elite, the same elite that flourished under Yahya

By Musa Bassadi Jawara | Bintou’s Point, Kerewan Since the death of Honorable Mbemba Jatta’s passing on Monday, I took time today to visit with the family in Gunjur. I’ve not been in Gunjur for over a decade, and the earth under my feet remembered me before I remembered the turns. The remains of the late Hon. Mbemba Jatta will be laid to rest at the Gunjur central cemetery on Saturday, 16th May 2026 I wanted to take time and travel to Gunjur this Wednesday May 13 and visit wi

By Musa Bassadi Jawara, Bintou’s Point, Kerewan I was informed within moments of his demise in New York, United States at my vantage point in Bintou’s Point, Kerewan. News travels fast in this age, but grief travels faster. It pierced the quiet of the compound and settled on my chest like the harmattan. Late Hon. Mbemba Jatta, Former Minister of Trade, Environment & Labour Under former President Sir Dawda K. Jawara Upon learning the sad news my initial reaction translated in

Sometime back, after finishing the poem “Journey to the Hereafter,” I shared it with a number of friends before publishing it on Facebook. The responses I received were telling: “Are you leaving for eternity?”, “No, don’t bring this kind of poem to me. Please, let us know if you are ready to go!”, “. . . And stop writing these types of writings 😢. Write about money—that’s what I want to see 😂”. Others joked that the poem sounded like I was “giving warning shots” before depa

A Response Essay | What Did the Workshop Actually Validate? | By Dave Manneh, Securing Futures: Land Rights Action Collaborative (SFLRAC) On 12 April 2026, What If We Stop Performing the Lie? (the third essay in The Architecture of Predation trilogy) asked what happens when communities refuse the performance the state requires. Seventeen days later, the NaNA Conference Hall offered not an answer but an illustration. The architecture, dressed in the language of reform, had l