Dembo Tutiba Darboe, acting Alkali of the sprawling and deeply traditional coastal settlement of Gunjur has been officially appointed as the Alkali by the local government Minister as per the local government act.
Dembo, who is both conventional and Arabic educated - speaks and writes in both English and Arabic, has been acting as village head since the death of Alkali Alhagie Giki Darboe in 2021. Dembo Darboe also doubles as the Imam of the Gunjur beach mosque.ย
Mr Darboe was officially confirmed as the Alkalo of Gunjur on Tuesday, 20th June 2023. Since the demise of his uncle Alhagie Omar Giki Darboe, Dembo was entrusted with the mantle of acting Alkalo of Gunjur until Tuesday when he was officially appointed on a permanent basis.
Prior to stepping in as acting Alkalo, Dembo has been working under former Alkali Alhagie Giki Darboe and was responsible for majority of the work of the Alkali and his exampliary work ethic has been recognised and known to many.
The appointment of Dembo Darboe as Alkali defies convention when it comes to Alkalorship in Gunjur. Historically and traditionally, this role takes the pertanal route by giving the post to the elder son (father) of either Darboe or Touray Kunda clan, just like Kabilo heads are appointed. Dembo Demboโs appointment arguably makes him the youngest Alkalo of Gunjur.
Reacting to his appointment, local activist and Microbiologist, Ahmed Manjang told Gunjuronline:
โThis is like a dream come true for the community, as I believe, probably he is the best Alkalo of Gunjur as what you have is what you know. He is a massive appeal to the youth population, and also the elders, well spoken, versed in the Quran and speaks English which gives him the advantage of the ability to speak anywhere as the head of the community. He is also a youth and we are very grateful to have him as our Alkali and believes he will bring unity because of his good temperament, not that partisan, and I think he will bring that long overdue unity that Gunjur needs for a long time. Ofcourse the traditionalist will argue that his dad should be the Alkali, but we live in a modern World and Dembo fits the Alkali, because with all these complex land issues, we need an Alkali who can read and write, so we are very lucky to have him as Alkali.โย
When Gunjuronline contacted the new Alkali for his reaction on his official appointment, he offered these words:
โ I want to start by thanking Allah who makes everything possible. I want to also thank everyone who facilitated this process to its conclusion until the confirmation of my appointment as the Alkali. I want to thank them for the confidence they have bestowed on me. I have been working under my father Ba Giki Darboe and would say 95 percent of his work was carried out by me due to the trust and confidence he has in me. We worked very cordially until his demise and I am grateful to Allah for that.โ
Alkali Dembo Darboe concluded by saying that he has carried out the function of the Alkali when the former Alkalo passed away after which he was formally the role as acting Alkalo, the position he occupied for three years before finally being appointed as permanent Alkali. He thanked everyone and urged the community to promote unity, pledging his willingness to promote development efforts in Gunjur as well as youth empowerment.ย