A bitter brawl ensued at Bakau Central Mosque on Thursday night, December 6, with some elders of the town engaging in a bitter push and pull on who should lead prayers in the mosque.

This strained incident showed the intervention of the Police to avoid the matter from getting out of hand.
According to the information reaching the Daily Observer, a mild commotion during the Magrib prayer on Thursday, paved way for bitter push and pull during the Inshai prayer.
Narrating the cause of the commotion to the Daily Observer, a mosque committee member who preferred anonymity said: “During the Inshai prayer on Thursday, the current Deputy Imam, Alhaji Omar Jammeh had the microphone intercepted from him by one Momodou Laffi Bojang, a mosque committee member, when Omar Jammeh attempted to lead the prayers.

Mr Bojang wanted one Dembo Jammeh to lead instead of Imam Jammeh, resulting in the row. The Insha prayer could not take place because Alhagi Luntang Jaiteh, the Alkalo of Bakau called for the temporal closure of the mosque in a bid to calm the strained situation, but insiders in the mosque, insisted that they will have to stay and observe the Insha prayer. As the trouble continued, a call was made to the Police Intervention Unit (PIU), who later came and closed the mosque before inviting the involved elders to the Bakau Police Station. Due to curious on-lookers, the matter was later referred to Kairaba Police Station,” the insider explained.

Another mosque committee member, told the Daily Observer that the central mosque has for the past years, experienced a fierce faction within its committee members.

He added: “The Imam of Bakau central mosque is Alhaji Momodou Bojang, who does not lead prayers except during Tobaski and Koriteh, owing to his health condition. Imam Bojang’s immediate deputy is Alhaji Omar Jammeh who has every right to lead the prayers in the absent of his superior,” the committee member concluded.