By Louise Jobe
A fourth witness in the land dispute between the Badjie Kunda Family of Kanjibato and the Sanyang Kunda Family of Chabai testified before the Foni Bondali District Tribunal on Thursday, providing new details ohJVIjabout the origins of the contested settlement known today as Fass Chabai.
Appearing before Chief Omar Colley, Mr. Famara Badjie, a member of the Badjie Kunda lineage, recounted events he said took place in the year 2000, when Wolof settlers arrived in Chabai village seeking farmland.
“My name is Famara Badjie from Kanjibato. I am aware of this land case. It concerns an area called Marato Tumbong, which is now known as Fass Chabai,” he told the court.
Mr. Badjie said that the Wolof settlers initially approached the Sanyang Kunda family in Chabai and expressed their interest in settling on a particular piece of land. According to him, Bernard Sanyang, then Alkalo of Chabai, informed them that the land they had identified belonged to the Badjie Kunda Family of Kanjibato.
He narrated that Mr. Sanyang then delegated Omar Sabally, Karamo Sanyang, and a Wolof man named Baboucarr Sey to visit Kanjibato and speak with his father, the late Ousman Badjie. “When they came, I was at home,” he recalled. “They asked for farmland. My father explained that the land was already lent to Ensa Sanneh’s father for farming, but agreed to accommodate them for farming purposes—not settlement.”
According to the witness, Baboucarr Sey requested to name the area “Fass,” in memory of a place behind Bansang where they originated. “My father refused,” Mr. Badjie said, “but agreed they could call it Fass Chabai, under the authority of Chabai village.”
He added that when the settlers eventually moved in, Bernard Sanyang again informed the Badjie family, prompting a joint visit by Foday Badjie, himself, and others to accompany the newcomers to the designated area.
During cross-examination, the Alkalo of Chabai, Mr. Kebuteh Sanyang, challenged the accuracy of the witness’s account. “I put it to you that Bernard Sanyang could not walk or travel by 2000 due to his age and health,” he said, suggesting that the delegation was handled entirely by others, not the then-alkalo.
Mr. Badjie stood by his statement: “That is what you know, but I have told the truth.”
He further confirmed that on their visit to Chabai, they did not notify the Sanneh Kunda Family of Wassadou, who were also using part of the disputed land.
When asked who accompanied him to the site visit, Mr. Badjie named his father Foday Badjie and Lamin Badjie as present.
The tribunal has adjourned the matter to Thursday, July 10, 2025, for the continuation of witness testimonies.
