Students of Gambian history are very familiar with one of the greatest revolts against colonial rule in the Gambia at Sankandi, in Kiang. By far, the only incident I know of that the people rose against the colonial administration and killed two Commissioners in the persons of Sitwell and Silva. No other incident had that many causalities and in the senior ranks of their administration either preceded or occurred after.
The closest embarrassment was their punitive expedition in 1834 against Kemintang Camara, King of Upper Niani at his fortress in Ndungusine, where the Governor, Lt Gov. George Rendell was seriously humiliated. He deserted his troops as their commander, a story long described as one of the worst for colonial Britain.
By 1900, Protectorate Gambia had only two Travelling Commissioners one for each bank of the River Gambia and it so happened that the term of Commissioner Sitwell (South Bank) had ended and handed over to his replacement Mr Silva.
Because Silva was new to the job, accounts have it that Sitwell decided to accompany Silva to Sankandi to find a solution to the land dispute between Sankandi and Jattaba; two neighbors and family but separated by religion.
Jattaba was a Soninke town while Sankandi was said to be a Muslim settlement at the time and who were sympathetic to Foday Kabba Dumbuya of great fame as a religious crusader. Our National Anthem was said to have been dedicated to him by Jali Nyama Suso whose grandfather served as the Jali for Foday Kaba Dumbuya. This partly explains why the Anthem sounds like a prayer rather than revolutionary as most anthems around the world are.
The Sankandi incident according to the British colonial officials
“The year was marked by one very tragic event—the murder of Mr. Sitwell and Mr. Silva, Travelling Commissioners, six constables, and a Native Chief called Mansah Kotah, at Sankandi, in Kiang, on the 14th June. The history of this sad occurrence is shortly as follows:—A dispute had arisen between the inhabitants of Sankandi and those of a town called Batelling, of which Mansah Kotah was the Alkadi, on the subject of the ownership of some rice fields tying between the two place? As Mr Silva had only recently assumed his duties, Mr Sitwell, who had considerable experience in the Protectorate, was sent with him to ” enquire into the dispute and to endeavour to bring about a better understanding between the Sankandi people and those of Mansah ‘Kotah.
On arrival at Sankandi the Commissioners proceeded into the town, the people having refused to accept Mr Sitweil’s proposal to meet him outside and discuss matters. When they reached the usual meeting place the Commissioners found no one there, but after a little delay the headman of Sankandi, Dari Bana Dabu appeared alone, driving some goats. As he had shown himself to be very dissaffected to the Government, Mr Sitwell left the native huts where he and his party had placed themselves and endeavoured to arrest him. He resisted and called upon his people, who it was suddenly discovered were lying in ambush amongst some houses close by, to fire, which they did, with the fatal results I have related. Further particulars than these it is impossible to give with any accuracy.
Unfortunately, it was for some little time difficult to punish the offenders, and the ringleaders escaped into French Territory. This gave rise to a strong spirit of opposition to constituted authority throughout the Protectorate, and it was found necessary in the early part of the present year to organise an expedition against some of the towns adjacent to Sankandi, especially one named Dumbutu. The Expedition, however, very soon brought about the desired result, and complete quiet is now to be found everywhere within the sphere of British influence.” (Annual Colonial Report 1900)
While many observers will quickly point out an error in the above account in that the problem was between Sankandi and Jattaba and not between Sankandi and Battelling, what may not appear obvious is the British injection of a wider sphere of insubordination to the extent that Chief Mansa Koto Sanyang, who was resident at Battelling was killed during the showdown.
Battelling was the seat of local authority in the area, and it very much is telling us that the Chief may have been knee-deep in the issue and very likely took the side of the people of Jattaba.
If that were the case, then administratively, the problem was, at that point, between Sankandi and Battelling when a judicial pronouncement was delivered. The British saw the source of authority in the area which was Battelling. When a judgement is passed, it is the Executive branch that enforces.
Although this British report did not indicate what they did to the people of Dumbuto, a military column marched on Dumbutu seven months later enroute to Sankandi and open fired on the people while they attended Friday prayers on January 11, 1901, and 70 people lost their lives. Yes, it was not just an incident to Sankandi people, Dumbuto too suffered. Unfortunately, we don’t discuss the Dumbuto massacre.
“The principal event in the criminal proceedings of the year was undoubtedly the trial of three men for the murder of the two Travelling Commissioners at Sankandi, in the previous year. The charge was fully proved against the accused, WHO PAID THE FULL PENALTY DEMANDED BY LAW.” (1901 Annual Colonial Report)
The three were most likely the ring leaders in the persons of Dari Bana Darbo, Lasana Dahaba and Bakary Jobe but the 1901 Report failed to detail the killings in Sankandi and Dumbuto.
Below is the account regarding Dumbuto on that January 11, 1901, day:
“The British historians do not recount the final episodes of the sad day. Darri Bana Darbo and Sankandi Burang were captured by the British, tied up, and taken to Dumbutu to be hung in front of the people there. The British found the population of Dumbutu at Friday prayers. They opened fire and at least seventy people were killed. The majority were Darbos and members of the Camara Kunda, Jala Kunda, and Cisaay Kunda. Some Dumbutu residents were captured and sent to exile in Sierra Leone. Others fled and sought refuge in Wurokung, Kabada, and the majority, in the distant forests of Sampama. Here a group lived in trees and caves until the situation settled down”.
One other source credited Dari Bana Darbo, Lasana Dahaba and Bakary Jobe as the ringleaders who later fled but were captured by the French and handed over to the British for trial. In all the versions I have heard, Dari Banna Dabo was always mentioned. He was a constant participant in the attack. Another person by the name of Sankandi Burang was mentioned as among the ringleaders.
The exiles
In the scheme of the Sankandi discourse as they relate to the incident, the fate of the exiles is barely talked about. Quite often, the detail dances mainly around the killing of the two Commissioners, the Chief and the six Constables.
This is not supposed to be an accident of history. It was by a design of the colonial administration to garner support for their cause and in the minds of the subjects, injected a sense of guilt. Their actions would then be justifiable in the face of their losses.
At least two waves of exiles occurred in two different directions as follows:
Migration into Casamance
After the British bombardment of Dumbuto and Sankandi, many the people sought refuge into Cassamance, and I am told that they founded another settlement and called it Sankandi. I once visited this village which still exists. Unfortunately, I have lost the pictures I took. Many people in Sakandi (Cassamance) share family ties with their brethren on the Gambian side.
Migration to Sierra Leone
A more painful migration to Sierra Leone was also sanctioned by the British perhaps to deny the people most active in organising dissent to the far-flung regions of the Empire in order not to be able to organise revolts.
Many of these people have not returned and most likely claimed Sierra Leonean citizenship, changed their ethnicity and names and probably their religion.
It appears that these exiles were not brought before a tribunal and have their cases heard and be given the opportunity to defend themselves even though such rights were encoded in British jurisprudence.
In addition to the Sankandi crisis, a similar incident happended between Sintet and Jwenkell. British columns marched on Jwenkell against the Colley clan who were marched to Kansala and each village was required to send in a representative to witness the public execution. This was supposed to be during the time of Chief Sori Sambou of Jarrol.
Some of the Gambians exiled or banished during the colonial era
The colonial period saw many excesses in the use of arbitrary power against the natives.
What became apparent was that despite the Acts of English Parliament in 1297, the Colonial Government turned a blind eye to the provisions contained therein.
The following passage becomes relevant:
“No freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or disseised of his freehold, or his liberties, or free customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or otherwise destroyed, nor will be passed upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful judgement of his peers, or by the law of the Land. We will sell to no man; we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right…” (Acts of English Parliament, 1297).
In many cases, the person concerned was punished twice for the same offence. It was not enough for some to serve their sentences in prison but were in addition banished either after serving their terms or during. Double Jeopardy provisions were not respected.
“A person may not be separately prosecuted for two offenses based upon the same act or criminal transaction unless:
(a) The offenses as defined have substantially different elements and the acts establishing one offense are in the main clearly distinguishable from those establishing the other; or
(b) Each of the offenses as defined contains an element which is not an element of the other, and the statutory provisions defining such offenses are designed to prevent very different kinds of harm or evil; or
(c) One of such offenses consists of criminal possession of contraband matter and the other offense is one involving the use of such contraband matter, other than a sale thereof. (As cited in Zuckerman, 2016: 2). (Zuckerman, E. M. (2016). Matter of Baim v. Eidens, Touro Law Review)
1. Foday Kabba Dumbuya to Medina in Senegal
2. Foday Kombo Sillah to Cayor in Senegal
3. Musa Molloh to Sierra Leone
4. Mansajang Sanyang Head Chief of Kantora to Kinti Kunda in Baddibu
5. Bajo Sanyang, brother of Mansajang Sanyang
6. Daniel Sanyang Headman of Farintumbung in Kantora to Batteling
7. Chief Suntu komma Sanyang from Kantora to Battelling
7. Mamudu Kora
8. Bakari Ba Kora to Lambatara in Cassamance
9. Bakary Jarju, Headman of Sibito in Kiang to Jamakuta in Senegal
10. Nderry Jabu Touray, Head Chief of Lower Saloum to Georgetown
11. Kemo Cham Sukuta away from both Kombo and Foni Provinces
12. Kemintang Sanyang from Kantora to Batteling
13. Jumo Sanyang
14. Mansamang Sanyang
15. Foday Tenneng Manneh, Headman of Badari
16. Cherno Abdoulie Jallow, Kantora
17. Elias Joseph Annah from Nauleru in Baddibu to Bathurst
18. Yugo Faal, Headman of Bansang to Cassamance
In the case of Cherno Abdoulie Jallow, who was imprisoned for practicing witchcraft and jailed for three months in 1925 and later banished, was a clear example of abuse of power.
Apparently, there was no law against witchcraft and so his imprisonment was unlawful because he committed no crime. It appeared that Jallow had issues with the Chief of his District.
In the case of Mansajang Sanyang, no reason was given for his removal from office as Chief including the decision to banish him from Baddibu. Elias Joseph Annah a businessman at Nauleru in Baddibu was asked to take up residence in Bathurst, and he must not leave there without the permission of the police superintendent. No reason was given and despite appealing to the Commissioner of North Bank, the decision remained in force.
The presumption of innocence until found guilty was largely ignored in colonial Gambia. This legal phrase was first coined by an English statute in 1354.
Liberty of Subject (1354) states that:
“None shall be condemned without due Process of Law. No Man of what Estate or Condition that he be, shall be put out of Land or Tenement, nor taken, nor imprisoned, nor disinherited, nor put to Death, without being brought in Answer by due Process” (Cornell Law School, Amendment v. Rights of persons (n.d)).
Aruna Njie, Headman of Fatoto was dismissed in 1928 for a shortfall in taxes. Clearly the headman was not responsible for the actions of the tax defaulters or evaders. In law, every person is liable for his or her actions.
The list above is not exhaustive and is an attempt to bring to the fore, the injustices of colonialism which we hardly talk about. Several people were banished for no good reason and many never came back.
We have many Gambians in Senegal and Sierra Leone that we will never know about. They are among the many unsung heroes we don’t celebrate.
One take away from this is that we need to be careful who we call a foreigner. This is because these people may be descendants of Gambians sent into exile and who never returned.
It would be an interesting area of research into the story of the exiles. They are the people who paved the way for the more recent “freedom fighters” we today celebrate.
Let us remember the people of Dumbuto as we commemorate the 126th anniversary of the Sankandi incident on this 14th day of June 2026. The death toll at Sankandi may never be known but I am convinced that it would be much more than what Dumbutu had to contend with. The massacre at Sabiji is by far the worst in colonial Gambia with about 1500 killed just to enforce a warrant because a woman was alleged to have been kidnapped by her husband and taken to Sabiji.
On April 11, 1902, Ordinance No. 7 passed providing for an Executive Government in the Protectorate which Ordinance is an amendment of the Protectorate Ordinance 1894, the parent Ordinance.
This executive power also established judicial institutions like the Native Tribunals but also allowed the Commissioners to hold courts which contravene the separation of powers doctrine. In fact, even during the first Republic, some Commissioners were still holding courts despite.
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