By Hassoum Ceesay
Before he retired in 2005 after twenty-three years as Police Band Commander, Chief Superintendent Mbye Jobe, had cut the figure of a classical orchestra conductor maestro resplendent in his well starched Police Band Uniform, with the baton hanging in his nimble fingers.
His demise aged 78 on 18 July, gives us the opportunity to retrace his illustrious career as a Police Bandsman, composer, conductor over a thirty five years period. He was among the first cohort of Gambian Police Officers trained in Music at reputable institutions like Kneller Hall, Nigeria Police Band Academy. He and his seniors like Band Master Sey, Nicol knew how to write, compose and render music, martial or popular.
Master Jobe was among the Band which played live The Gambia National Anthem at the Maccarthy Square on 18th February, 1965, for the first time, before an expectant and highly boisterous audience. On 26th April, 1970, he was also in the Police Band Line up that rendered our National Anthem after Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara was sworn in as first President of the Republic.
He learned the tricks of the trade under highly efficient Police Band Masters like Nicol and Sey. In 1982, a few months after the July1981 Kukoi Coup attempt, Jobe was given the conductor’s baton and he held it for more than 20 years. He maintained the strong musical heritage of the Band.
Indeed, the Band is as old as The Gambia Police Force. The Police historian Lamin Kujabi, has recently done a pioneering study on the history of the Band, and reveals that the band was created at the same time as the regular Police Force in 1855, making it the oldest surviving musical group in The Gambia.
During the colonial days, the Band was the sole provider of live music in the country. It was therefore oversubscribed and highly maintained because it was a big revenue stream for the colonial government. In fact, often, the Band’s receipts paid the salaries of the entire Police! But above all, the band served as the PR arm of the Police. Regularly, it marched through Gambian villages to enforce the authority of the colonial state, and also boost public moral. When the British wanted to entice Musa Molloh, King of Fulladu, into a treaty to annex his kingdom into the British Protectorate, they sent the Police Band to Fulladu and he enjoyed their presence so much that he posed with the Band and his gewels. Even if most Gambians feared the brutal colonial Police, they loved the music of the Police Band.
Therefore, the colonial government spent much resources kitting the Band, and training its members. Mbye Jobe benefited from such training many times. The Band was like a nursery for the best talents in music. Paps Touray, the great Gambian singer, cut his musical teeth in the Band.
The retirement of its last cohort of trained members, the emergence of the Army Band and the rise in live music bands and discos took the wind out of the sails of the Police Band. Its glory days were gone, but seem to be coming back now under the new dispensation at Police HQ such that a senior officer, Lamin Kujabi, has done a whole MA History thesis on the Band! This is a good start towards regaining its glory.
I knew and worked with Band Master Jobe in the late 2000s, and found him a true professional who knew music. He read it, wrote it and interpreted it. He understood, and tried to explain to me, Aria, Allegro, and Andante. He composed many tunes which now form the vast repertoire of the Police Band. In his later years, he assisted in validating a music curriculum in Gambian schools.
To his family, friends and former colleagues at the Band, I convey sincere condolences and pray that his Soul rest in peace.
(Alh. Mbye Jobe, Commander of The Gambia Police Band, Composer and Conductor, died 18 July, 2025).
