Makasutu - The Holy Forest

Makasutu is a Mandinka term for a Holy Forest. “Maka” means holy and “Sutu” means forest. I am not sure what prompted my desire to visit Makasutu, but it was sudden. Come to think of it, it was probably because of an urgent need for solitude and rejuvenation after being in The Gambia for a couple of weeks, di dugaaka gaina. Ding, Makasutu came to mind! I’ve heard of the place and seen photos of it before, but out of the blue, suddenly there was this pressing need to go visit the place. So I called my sister, Ida Ndow, and asked her if she has the phone number for Makasutu since she used to work with Gambia Experience a lot in the past. Moments later, Ida called me back and gave me a phone number designated to a man named Buba Fadera. I called Buba the next day and expressed my yearning to visit Makasutu with my wife for a day trip and asked how to go about it. After a brief conversation, he quoted me a price and said it would include lunch too. I was sold right away and we agreed on a date (01/21), a couple of days away.

After another day of “rang rang”, “peep peep”, and dealing with the traffic officers and their checkpoints, we retired at around 11pm with plans to be up around 8am to get ready for our day at Makasutu. I am surprised Makasutu didn't show up in my dreams that night, it had been on my mind all day. I slept like a baby though, dama tasson ndaham! The morning was light and we were feeling excited wondering what lies ahead for us at Makasutu. Then around 9am or so, I received a phone call from Buba. He wanted to confirm if our plan to spend the day at Makasutu was still intact and wanted to make sure we had the proper directions to get there. He said it was right outside of Brikama. He also said he was going to meet us there later, but wanted me to call him when we arrive at the gate. An hour later, after putting some necessities together in a bag to take along with us, we were now set to cruise to Makasutu.

The drive there was relatively smooth, since it was on a Thursday morning, and we were going against traffic. Of course, we encountered the police traffic checkpoints along the way, with their usual "hello uncle/sir, lu bakh nak". And when we reached the checkpoint in Brikama after the UTG campus there, I told the officer that we were heading to Makasutu and asked her how far away we were. She said we were not far away at all and should see the sigh right after the next Gas Station on our left. Like everything Gambia, I was looking out for a giant billboard sign, like the ones with Adama Barrow's face everywhere, but I missed it and kept driving. I realized it because I saw a sign that read "Serrekundanding", so I decided to pull over and ask again. I was then told to head back for about half a mile, and the sign should be on my right. And then bingo, there it was, totally different from the "Adama Barrow type billboard" I had in mind. It was a vertical metal sign that spelled out "Makasutu".

The road to Makasutu from the highway was your typical "off road" track, so it was a good thing that we were driving a Jeep. About a half mile onto the road, we were flagged down by a woman looking for a lift. But because the road led to nowhere else but to Makasutu, I assumed that she too was headed there since there was nothing else around along the way, so I stopped to pick her up. And yes, she was indeed going there. She was one of the Craft Market vendors at Makasutu and was heading to work. Seconds later, a conversation ensured. I asked her how does she normally get to work daily, and she lamented about the transportation hardships and told us that most of the time, she walks to and from work. I am not sure what the distance was, but it's not short. In any event, I am glad we showed up that day and were able to save her from the runga. Midway through, the conversation shifted to tourism, and again, she lamented about the decline in business due to the dwindling tourist season. Upon arrival, she thanked us for the ride and headed to her business stall area to the right, and we headed straight ahead to the reception area.

As Buba requested, I called him upon arrival and he asked me to hand the phone over to the lady at the reception, and I believe her name was Amie. After their brief conversation, she looked at us and smiled. She then told us that Buba told her not to collect a dime from me, and that our visit was complimentary. This would normally mean "on the house”, but this time around, it was "on the forest". As we were being led to the Baobab Cultural Center to be introduced to our tour guide, Lamin Darboe, I was already beginning to feel the Makasutu vibe. Overwhelmed with excitement, I knew it was going to be a fun day ahead. Lamin ushered us into the guest sitting area and sat next to us at the table, as he gave us a rundown of what was ahead for us. We were immediately impressed with Lamin's confidence and knowledge of Makasutu's history, so when he mentioned that he was only 18 years of age and had only interned for a few months prior to getting a part time there, we were even more captivated! He is a resident of Serrekundanding.

It was now time to get things going and our first stop was going to be by the pool area for coffee (Base Camp). With Gambia being famous for its extensive birdlife and home to over 600 species, I found myself lost in the tranquil and uniqueness of Makasutu, and the experience was already starting to get magical with striking birds chirping sounds. While sipping our coffee (not Café Touba) and taking it all in, my wife and I were approached by a couple of ladies who wanted to know where we were from. I told them that we were Gambians but my wife lives in London and I live in San Francisco. Then all of a sudden their jaws dropped, and one of them screamed "I am from San Francisco too!" We had a big laugh about the wild coincidence and chit chatted for a bit. As the saying goes, what a small world! We later found our way on top of the tower while Lamin waited for us, to get a full bird’s eye view of the forest, since flying over was not an option kai. There, we were able to take it at 360 degrees and it was a spectacularly beautiful view too. 

While we were up on the tower enjoying the 360 bird's eye view, Lamin was patiently waiting for us down below where Makasutu’s in-house Jaliba, Omar Kuyateh, was singing some tunes for guests lounging around sipping tea or coffee. Upon our return, Jali was singing the “singkoling koling” song. Hypnotized by the song, I had to bust some moves, and my wife quickly joined in.  After our impromptu “get down”, Lamin  suggested for us to do the nature walk first, since there were a few people ahead of us for the canoe ride, bolong kono. The nature walk was interesting and Lamin has a good knowledge of the environment and educated us about the plants there and all their different medicinal and household uses. For example, the African Mahogany tree is used for digestive problems and for general pain relief. Fortunately, as we were standing under the tree listening to Lamin explain to us how the wild Baboons there peal and chew the stalk of the Mahogany tree when they have stomach issues, a troop showed up and a few of them were doing just that. It was surreal!

Of course, the Mahogany tree is also used for making furniture, and Lamin said husbands used to chop one down to make a bed for their new wife, back in the day. Rek my wife looked at me, y faleh wumakor sah! Lamin is funny, and has a wry way of putting things in his own way. He pointed out a parasitic plant to us, and said he calls it the jealous tree. Parasitic plants are lazy and get all their nutritional requirements from other living plants. They latch onto to the host plant and suck up all the amount of nutrients they require for survival. And, some plants are able to locate their host plants by detecting chemicals in the air or soil given off by a potential host. Talk about a plant with a good nose! According to Lamin, a parasitic plant is jealous because it doesn't allow other plants around it to exist without sucking them up dry. Besides telling us about the many different plant species at Makasutu, Lamin also told us about the animals and insects there. We saw some enormous termite skyscrapers too. And of course, we got another funny lecture about the life of a termite from him. Part of the nature walk experience was to also visit the in-house Marabout at his hut along the trail, for some herbal remedies from the medicinal trees in the area, as well as settlu (fortune telling). 

According to the story, when the two Englishmen, James English and Lawrence Williams were looking to buy a suitable piece of land in The Gambia to create a tourism project, the Marabout, who was living on the land at the time introduced them to the owners of the land, the Sanneh Kunda Family. Part of the story too is that the marabout performed palm reading for James and Lawrence, and prescribed a charity for them. He also told them there will become a time when thousands of people from around the world will come to visit Makasutu. Since part of the plan by James and Lawrence, was to allow the local people that were living and using the land prior to their arrival to stay and possibly incorporate them into the planned tourism project, the marabout was allowed to stay at Makasutu. The Marabout has since died and was succeeded by his eldest son. It was now our turn for palm reading with the marabout as a slice of our nature walk experience, so my wife and I entered the hut. What the marabout told us was fascinating and gave us a sense of peace.

It was now lunch time, so we headed back to the Baobab Cultural Center for a nice Gambian buffet. While we were on our nature walk and ran into the baboons, Lamin had mentioned to us that they know when lunch is and will always show up for their share, and here they were sitting on top of the tables and freely running around the Baobab Cultural Center. They are supposed to be wild, but they sure know how to cozy up to people at lunch time. Right after lunch, a group of Jola drummers and dancers started performing what was their routine performance under the huge baobab tree. They didn’t need to encourage me to join in and dance, I jumped right in and showed them what I was made of and guess who else jumped in? My wife! After it was all said and done, all the Jola dancers admitted to that I was a better dancer than them. My “sewruba” skills from Bakau are still with me. Tantang kosso ning dongo layka taa nyola, that was the perfect way to digest lunch, before our next activity, the canoe ride. Then moments later, Buba Fadera arrived and we were able to meet him in person and expressed our profound gratitude for his generosity.

For our canoe ride, we headed back to Base Camp to board from there. We had a different guide for the canoe ride and off we went into the Mandina Bolong, a branch of the River Gambia, for a laid back cruise. While in the canoe, as our rower was navigating through the mangroves, I was busy alternating between attentively listening to our canoe guide and dipping my hand in the water, bolong kono and singing “Bamba woo kanang faa muna Bamba woo, nee bayla yuku yuku la badaator…” Canoeing can be relaxing, and canoeing along the Mandina Bolong was incredibly peaceful too, with the occasional bird calls and the sound of the rower’s paddle as we drifted down the calm waters. On either side, you can see oysters clinging on to the mangroves, which we were told were occasionally collected by local women. After a charming and serene canoe ride, we pulled up and docked at the Base Camp shore and disembarked, as others were waiting for their turn. It was now around 4pm and our day at Makasutu was coming to an end, so we headed for the exit. With the “singkoling koling” song still ringing in our heads, the three of us, Lamin, my wife and I, decided to have our own ‘”singkoling trio”. Aywali yoo borlal yen dannay, aywali yoo borlal yen dannay, singkoling koling sing, singkoling koling sing!! We then hit the Craft Market to pick up a couple of items before beating Lamin goodbye. What a magical day it was!

It was well after our visit to Makasutu that I discovered there was a Mandinka folklore dating back to the 12th century about the forest. It says that a dragon like creature known as “Ningkinangka or Ningkinangko” lives in the swamp, and guards the buried clothes and crown of a tribal king, from the Soninke Kingdom of Busumbala, Mansa Jatta, who was slain in battle by Kombo Sillah, a Muslim king. This was during the period Islam swept into the Senegambia region, from the Sahara. The Ningkinangka is also believed to protect the forest and the nearby community from potential thieves. Legend also has it that the forest was haunted by Jinays (spirits), and as a result, the holy forest was unoccupied, and used mostly for prayer and tribal rituals. They used to bath Njuli yee fofu in the waters of the Madina Bolong as part of the circumcision process. Local kings also prohibited any hunting and cutting down of trees in the Holy Forest. Had I known about this Mandinka Folklore prior to my visit, I would have been singing a different tune bolong kono. Instead, I would have only dipped my fingertips into the water and sang “Ningkinanko kanang faa muna Ningkinanko, nee bayla yuku yuku la bolong kono…”

PS: This piece is dedicated to Lamin Darboe for making our visit educative, fun and memorable. 

Kansalla Night Club

I went back to my old neighborhood for a visit, and memories of the Kansalla Night Club came flooding in. Not sure when it initially opened or when it finally closed for good, but it was a place frequented by many and a part of my childhood memories. It was located at the heart of Bakau Sanchaba (sunge junction) rights next to a bodofel ak jayeakayi karinge. Only Bakau can pull such - a Night Club right next to a bodofel ak jaiyeakayi karinge! Kansalla was the spot for many years. The action would start later in the evening (borri timiss), and culminate at dawn (njale), almost on a daily basis. The music and the drama went hand in hand. There was never a dull moment at Kansalla

The evenings prepared the nights with a host of Bob Marley songs prior to the club opening its doors. Right around timiss was when you would first hear Bob Marley’s voice shooting out of the massive speakers, and the sound of reggae music, clapping like thunder. Songs like Kaya Now, Natural Mystic and Buffalo Soldier. “Got to have kaya now, when the rain is falling.” And when the rain was falling in Bakau, you can bet your lunch that they were having Kaya at Kansalla. It was all part of the natural mystique that made Kansalla the spot I guess!

The music could always be heard all around the neighborhood, and you can always catch me singing along and learning the lyrics of Bob Marley’s songs. Once the doors were open, we would usually sit at the junction to get a glimpse of the patrons going in and out. They generally go in sober, but come out drunk. We witnessed many fights there, bunti Kansalla. “Sa nagam tani ndey man, yow nga hammeh maladey pejeh beer 🍺.” Boy bayil nonu man, sai sa friend la, bulko torpa.” These were some of the things we heard at Kansalla fight scenes. Drunks fighting and other drunks attempting to intervene and break up the fight, absolute entertainment! 

Obviously, kids were not allowed to enter the Night Club, but I somehow found myself inside Kansalla a few times while the patrons were grooving and getting hit by the jumping lights. Not sure if I was sent in there to call someone or sent by a patron to buy cigarettes for them, but I remember being inside and wishing I was old enough to go clubbing, without the “drinking and smoking” part. I too wanted to be hit by jumping lights. So at form two in High School rek, ma topator pass dem Tropican Night Club and got hit by the jumping lights there while grooving on the dance floor. I ran into my uncle fofu, and he said to me “Hai Modou Ndow! Yow loy deff fee? Dinako wah sa Papa!” Not sure if he did or not, but I never heard from dad regarding the incident. Sorry, I digress, back to Kansalla! 

Kansalla was also rented out for private events at times, and these included renting it out to High Schools (for their passing out event) and other people who wanted to have a private party. The club was also frequented by tourist, and with that came some level of prostitution too. Kansalla was action packed, you name it, it was happening there. If my memory serves me right, there was a fight that resulted to a murder there. Stabbing! 

Kansalla Night Club was owned by Tiger, and he was the man. With any level of success in Gambia, then and now, comes with group bi dogo dogo kats, and Tiger had plenty. The siboru ak dogo dogo culture in Gambia is real and has been around as far as I can remember. Tiger had loads of people around him, and they ran his errands in exchange for whatever favors they were able to get from him. “Yes Sir, Yes Sir”, just like we heard Rambo Jatta say to Goloh! Because Tiger lived at Kansalla and also had rental motorcycles, his boys were always there hanging out, even when the club was closed. Tiger’s living quarters was attached to Kansalla. Sayor rombey, guy yangee tork si bitti di hang! 

When we heard a loud vroom vroom, we always knew neh Tiger was about to ride his big motorcycle, and we would run out to watch. His personal motorbike was different from the rental ones, and he was a fantastic rider! He used to race with another good rider (whose name I can’t remember for the life of me), and we used to go watch them around Cape Point. Of course, I always picked Tiger as my winner! 

I am not certain how and why, but we just woke up one day and Kansalla was gone for good. I guess it ran its course, and it all happened under my young watchful eyes, and now part of my childhood memories. The bodofel ak jayeakayi karinge are long gone, but Kansalla still stands. It is now a Casino!

Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking is a crime everywhere and the “back way” business is just that – a crime against humanity! It is organized crime and it is time the Gambian Government take this crime seriously! How many lives have been lost through the “back way”? When will this be taken for the serious crime against humanity that it is?

Picture courtesy of Murcia Today

Those operating these Human Trafficking Rings should be arrested and charged for endangering lives and the death of those who perished at sea. It seems like nothing is a big deal to us and we keep saying “Yalla morko dogal”, but beh kange? We have romanticized this “back way” phenomenon, and it’s consuming our youths. You hear people say “suma dom bi dafa buga dem back way”, “kee demna back way last week”, or “mann passi back way rek mormafi tek”, as if “back way” is an ideal thing to do. It really beats me!

Of late, there has been a hike in “back way” action in the Niumi area, especially in Barra. The boats have been departing from Jinack Island and the fee is D35, 000. The human Trafficking Rings will collect as much money as they can, and fill up the boats way beyond their capacity. Even at capacity, these “Gali Serer’s) are not meant for such a journey, let alone ten times their capacity. These journeys are a deadly arrangement from the onset and a serious crime against humanity. I live 6, 415 mile away from Gambia, yet I am aware of these criminal transactions. So how come the Government is not cracking down on these criminal enterprises?

This latest uptick has also generated self-pressure on other parents to try purr lejanteh pass for their kids to take the “back way” too, since all the other kids are going. Just on Monday, I had a conversation with a relative who was solicited for passi “back way” regarding the extreme danger to the lives of these kids, with such a risky journey. The D35, 000 has been collected, and now 58 are dead and gone for good. If the D35,000 was borrowed, it is still owed. And tomorrow the Human Trafficking Rings will resume business as usual. Unless we stop romanticizing the “back way” and the government gets serious about stopping it, we will keep waking up to such tragedies!

The Devil is Narcissistic And A Liar

Edward Singhateh Testifying at TRRC

Too many witnesses spoke about the devil, and too many witnesses said the devil did it. Edward Singhateh’s name was called a million times and he was also implicated in a million incidents. Since the TRRC started, the name Edward Singhateh has been echoed like a champion – witness upon witness, testimony upon testimony! Essentially, all roads led to Edward Singhateh Avenue, and we are finally there. Edward came because there is no place to hide and he had no choice, not because he’s a nice murderer who wanted to do the right thing by appearing on his own accord. The heat was too much, so he had to leave the kitchen and show up! By appearing at the TRRC, Edward did not do anyone a favor, rather, he was just trying to save a face that he doesn’t have. The TRRC had become a lying fest, and Edward was not going to be any different. The standard had already been set and maintained.

It is perfectly fine for a murderer to be funny, but it is terribly bad for a murderer to try to make jokes while being questioned about their crimes. Edward didn’t need ice because he was sitting in the hot a seat, he needed ice because he’s a cold blooded murderer who needed to keep his blood cold. He came with a strategy to deny and deflect, and see what would stick. If he was going to go down, he wanted to look cute in the process. So instead of having an accused murderer to answer questions about their alleged crimes, we had a lawyer attempting to defend himself and being a perfect fool for doing so.

The entire session was about Edward and his audience. He wanted to look smart and was constantly worried about those who are watching him. He wanted to endlessly clarify and contextualize because he didn’t want those watching him to think of him in a certain way. He wanted to be seen as polished and thoughtful, but he came across as calculating and manipulative. Anything that made him look good in the eyes of the audience, he basked in it and owned it. Accept all general responsibility (because it’s less severe) and flatly deny all direct responsibility (because it’s more severe), regardless of the mountain of evidence presented. This is exactly the type of foolery that happens when a lawyer tries to represent himself or herself, you are unable to emotionally separate yourself and take a critical look at the evidence. If ten witnesses who all know you said they saw you commit a crime and you are the only one who said it didn’t happen, then you are lying. This is a reasonable conclusion anywhere.

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Edward told us that Goloh is the type of kufang coward who would say “bailen ma ma hehh, y sorko bayey du hehh.” But it’s the same Edward, who told us in the Janneh Commission that Goloh took some of his portfolio away from him when he was a minister because he objected to Goloh’s release of a captured ship that was illegally fishing in the Gambian waters. After taking his portfolios away, he also said he was unable to get Goloh’s audience. He also said lots of other things that indicated that he was scared of Goloh! Basically, Edward was scared of the same coward he painted Goloh to be. When a coward is scared of another coward!

Edward denied beating or speaking to anyone when they went to Mile 2 Prison at that ungodly hour. He said no hour is ungodly and that God made all hours. Well, God also made all human life, but Edward serially ended some. A preaching murderer! Edward repeatedly said that they were “young and angry”, but he expects us to believe that he went to Mile 2 Prison at an ungodly hour as a “young and angry” soldier who just found himself at the helm of power (in Africa) to interrogate other officers, and he didn’t beat or speak to anyone? To add insult to injury, all his victims said he beat the daylights out of them too, and he said “it wasn’t me.”

According to Edward, these were not normal times and he is perfectly right about that. But somehow, he (Edward) the “young and angry” soldier was the only lucid person in the lot, and everyone else was wild and crazy and he tried to bring sanity. Goloh was wild, Sana Sabally was wild, and so were all the other officers that did the beating and shooting. Anything that was going to directly implicate him, he did not recall because it was so long ago. But for some weird reason, Edward recalled their takeover of Yundum and Fajara Barracks and narrated them perfectly. He told us how he led the storming crew at Yundum Barracks and effortlessly took it over. He also perfectly narrated the Fajara barracks takeover and how he threw a grenade on the left side of the room to distract the subject, and then attacked him from the left side and captured him without a hitch.

But why did Edward recall these events so vividly and narrated them perfectly? Because they made Edward look good as a military man who excelled in what he was trained to do. Oh, and Edward also told us that he is a marksman and can take anyone out if he wants to kill, and he still holds the record in the GNA. Yep, the perfect soldier who later studied law and was never directly involved in shooting or torturing anyone as a “young and wild’ soldier who found himself at the wheel of power after staging a coup! The show was all about Edward Singhateh looking good as a soldier and a sophisticated fool of a lawyer attempting to defend himself from “manufactured” accusations.

Finally, we were now at the climax of it all, Koro Ceesay’s murder – the who done it! Right off the bat, Edward’s demeanor changed and his confidence level went down. He was folding his hands at times and periodically releasing some heavy sighs. He was less comfortable and not as confrontational, and he sounded more obedient. Guilt has a way of suffocating the conscience, and you can visibly see how smoking hot the chair was. With a significantly declined comfort level, Edward kept adjusting his body as if he was sitting on pins and needles, which was actually the case at that point. The only time that changed, was when Kanyi’s testimony was played. He became agitated and viciously wet after Kanyi. Clearly, there is something more between Edward and Kanyi (a man Edward claims not to know) that meets the eye! Then to cap it all off, Edward felt offended by being portrayed as a liar by Lead Counsel. Hello!

What Gina Needs

Gina Bass Wins 200m Gold at African Games in Rabat, 2019

We all watched Gina Bass compete on the world stage and beamed with pride, despite the limited resources in Gambian sports. With virtually everything in Gambia chaotic at the moment, Gina’s performance gave us something to all celebrate. We all wanted her to take the gold medal and give us that temporary fix as we continue to search for a ray of hope amid all the chaos! 

Given her raw talent and tremendous effort to make it on the world stage, Gina’s potential is yet to be fully tapped. There is more in her that needs to be unlocked and in my humble opinion, a track and field scholarship to the United States would be her best bet. In sports, environment matters greatly, and is very crucial in your mental and physical training. The better and more nurturing the environment, the more you will excel. 

Most colleges in the United States that are participating in the NAACA already have proven track and field programs in place, and what Gina needs is a “proven program” that will propel her to the next level, and I don’t think such program exists in The Gambia. Gina needs to be around athletes that are equally talented or better to motivate and challenge her on a daily basis, not athletes that she is better than by a mile. 

The Jamaicans are known for running, but most of their runners come to the United States to attend college here and be part of the college track and field programs to enhance their skills. They go out and represent Jamaica from here and beat their American counterparts, they are in these programs with. This is also the case for runners from Trinidad and many other countries that have the raw talent, but doesn’t have a full-fledged program to nurture and grow that talent. 

Gambia is not ready yet and wouldn’t be for a while, given the chaos, so Gina’s best bet is to try to place herself in a much better sporting environment that will help her grow to realize her full potential. She can always represent Gambia around the world from here, just like the Jamaicans and everyone else. So for those who are in the college system in the United States, try and see how you can recommend Gina for a scholarship for her to finally have a chance to be in the right environment that will take her to the next level and bring us our Gold. Gambia is struggling to provide the most basic needs, and an environment that would allow Gina to reach her potential is a luxury beyond her reach as a country.

Zoo Keeper

We didn’t have any pets at ‪64 Dubson street when I lived in Banjul. In fact, not very many compounds there had pets because of the city setting I guess. Banjul dafa hatt and the compounds were generally “family compounds”, with everyone and their mama living there – aunts, uncles, yumpanges, you name it. However, a good number of Kerr Aku yee had dogs purr sacha kat yee, so you better not jump over their fences trying to steal something! You will receive a good bite from Rocky, he’s brown and big.

What we had at ‪64 Dubson street were stray cats, lots of them at times too! They would just show up out of nowhere, and if they found the women sleeping on the wheel while cleaning fish (wass jenn), they would snatch the fish and walk away – di yayngal genn nak dem sen yon! Every time you heard one of the women scream out “woye suma ndey, mussi domi haram bi yobu na suma jenn bi”, you knew exactly what happened! Depending on that family’s situation, they may not torga ange and will have to rely on neighbors that day, for when they call out “kai len nyu ange!”

  

That reality virtually changed when I moved to Bakau. The compounds were bigger, the place was much breezier, and we had pets/animals –  a few too. We had Jamba Jobe, Goloh, Kanara, Ganarr, Jaysit, Mbonatt, and some stray cats fofu tam. It was like a Zoo there! Somehow, I guess by default, I ended up being the Zoo Keeper. I used to clean the ponds that were constructed for the Kanaras and the Jaysit/Mbonatt, and refresh the water every so often. I don’t remember what the maintenance schedule was sah, it’s been so long. All I remember is that Papa (my uncle/torma..may his soul continue to rest in peace) would say “Modou Ndow clean ndohi Jaysit bi jotna deh.” I was also called upon when the Jamba Jobe and Goloh escaped and started terrorizing the neighborhood.

The Jamba Jobe would usually leave and hit the streets when the bunti kerr was open and start running after people, or people would start running for the hills when they see it approaching, di yuhu nak – woyaiyoye, woye suma ndey! For the most part, it generally stayed on our street and doesn’t go far. Occasionally, though, the Jamba Jobe would leave our street and venture into yoni marrseh. Now that’s a fun sight to see, especially if it happens to be sometime in the morning when women are on their way to marrseh or coming back from marrseh. They would all start jetting at the sight of the Jamba Jobe forcing it to react and chase them. With their panyeh marrseh in hand, they would be screaming and looking to run into the nearest compound and some would spill the contents of their panyeh marrseh in the process – my hahatie rek nak! Once I was able to compose myself, I would then guide the Jamba Jobe back  home. Also, since the Jamba Jobe was such an exotic bird, some Bakau bumsters used to bring their Toubab tourist friends to our compound and show them the Jamba Jobe purr nyu natal koh.

Goloh (aka Bubu), became my buddy and I used to prepared his chop for him, it was usually ndeysitti ange or ma hossal koh keme. We had banana trees in the compound, but that was for us, not for Bubu. Doff rek! Bubu and I bonded well, and every time he escaped and started di display in the neighborhood, they would send someone to go find me, where ever I was. I could be at Jaiteh Kunda (JK) hanging or at the park wala Bakau School playing World Cup, and all of a sudden would hear “Mod Ndow, Bubu raychana deh!”. That’s when I would drop everything and run home to save the day.

The scene was always chaotic upon arrival with people running, screaming and pointing me to where Bubu was or last seen. “Bubu mungsi kerr Njago yee”, “Bubu mungsi kaw guyi sorance bi” wala “Bubu mungee nangam kunda.” Once I was able to ascertain exactly where Bubu was, that’s when the negotiations will commence. One thing was certain, regardless of how naughty Bubu was acting, he would immediately chill when I show up. I would then start coaxing him to come to me, and depending on how agitated he was, it can take a while sometimes. But as soon as he gets close to me, I would grab his tail and spin him around until he became fully dizzy, then gently carry him over to his post and chain him up again. Then Bubu would just sit there as if nothing ever happened, feyka tass na dayka beh tork!

After several years with Bubu, he fell ill from a wound he suffered on the left side of his waist. I became his doctor and would treat his wound by cleaning it every few days and applied some medication. He was a good patient too. But because the wound was in a critical place at his waist and were it was constantly being irritated by the chain on his waist, the wound was never able to heal. Bubu eventually succumbed and took his last breath in my arms. If I remember correctly, this must have been around when I was in form one or form two, and it was emotional. Bubu was my Bubu!

The Jamba Jobe I believe lived for about 40 years or so, and died not too long ago. Kanara ak ganarr yee nyome chop neng len bu yaga! As for the Jaysit ak Mbonatt, I don’t know what happened to them, but I am counting on sunge wa kerr to tell me.

When Gambia was nice! Now what pets/animals did you have at home growing up?

Sana Sabally In Perspective

Young Sanna Sabally. Picture 

courtesy of the Fatu Network 

Sanna Sabally took responsibility, but he basically blamed his actions on age, he was 27 years old at the time. I am not sure what people should be doing at 27 years of age, but I bet killing and terrorizing people would be considered extremely abnormal and inexcusable anywhere in the world for a 27 year old to be proudly engaged in, regardless! Not only was Sanna engaged in such horrific actions, he continually tried to justify them all through his testimony!

To try to accomplish his goal of justifying his brutal actions, Sanna constantly painted a picture of war/battle, where one has to kill the enemy at all cost, including those who were captured and tied. In addition, Sanna also continually attempted trashing the Geneva Convention at every chance and even called it “shit” at one point today.

In his efforts to further double down on his trashing of the Geneva Convention, Sanna probably went home yesterday after being challenged by the commission’s chairman who expressed disappointment in his ridiculous bashing of the Geneva Convention and did some quick research, to try to clarify his position. So he returned today with the story of when the Emperor caught some enemy soldiers trying to scale the wall in Geneva in the sixteen hundreds and hanged them.

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In Sanna’s mind, the Geneva Convention, which was negotiated in the aftermath of the Second World War in 1949, was “shit” because of an event that happened in Geneva in the sixteen hundreds. But it was that same “shit” of a “Geneva Convention” that rescued him and gave him the chance to relocate to Germany and realized his dream of being in the medical field. In essence, the Geneva Convention is “shit” when Sanna Sabally is the law, but golden when Sanna Sabally became victim!

Sanna told us that he came to the TRRC to tell the truth about his role, but the truth was already established by multiple witnesses, and Sanna only came to corroborate that “truth” and accepted responsibility. According to him, he was not going to lie because others who were there under his command knew what happened. He also told us that when he sees people beating their chest claiming to have kicked Goloh out (including the President), dafdey hahatie beh halangu. But it’s the same Sanna who sat there beating his chest about how he is not scared of anyone and will take a bullet in the chest any day. How ironic!

Let’s not forget that Sanna is now a professionally trained counselor in Germany; and what do counselors do? – they work with the mind and know how the mind works, so he came well prepared. He’s had years to be prepared for this day because he knew it was coming. His every statement was calculated, and his every defense reinforced, including the trashing of the Geneva Convention and the Junta’s right to take over the government at the time, despite the illegality of their actions.

In his closing remarks, Sanna pleaded with the TRRC and the current government to intervene because the German project his was working on in Senegal was halted by the German authorities, and offered his psychotherapy service free of charge to his victims. Did the German authorities halt the project when “shit” hit the fan and they became aware of Sanna’s crimes? With the Holocaust in their past and the human rights violations that happened there, the last thing the Germans want is to associate  themselves with such crimes, they will quickly distance themselves from it. And with Sanna’s offer of psychotherapy free of charge, it is nothing but a case of “ma reye la beh parey jaleh la”, something the Junta was good at.

In conclusion, Sanna was a 27-year-old who thought it was justified to stage a military coup to correct the corruption, and part of that correction was to kill, torture, and abuse citizens. And also once in a while, find nurses who skipped work and went to their boyfriend’s houses, knock on the door (pam pam), tell them that you were Chairman Sabally, and dragged them back to work. Waiting for them to show up to work was not an option. Throughout his testimony, Sanna talked about forgiveness and reconciliation, but he forgot to mention justice. Yes Sanna came voluntarily to tell the truth that was already established, but telling the truth doesn’t exonerate anyone from the crime of murder, and that’s why there is no statute of limitation for murder. Let justice guide our actions!

PS: Sanna wants Gambians to know the truth and judge for themselves, so I did just that.