Alfa Yaya Molo Balde was the founder of Fuladu, a kingdom in the Casamance region of modern-day Senegal.
[1] The Toucouleur marabout El-Hajj Omar Tall supposedly visited him in 1847, inspiring him to launch a Fula rebellion against the Mandinka rulers of Kaabu that had dominated the region between the Gambia river and what is now Guinea-Bissau for centuries.
Over time, however, his band of raiders found increasing success, which attracted recruits and allowed Alfa Molo to build a tata in the village of Ndorna.
[2] Alfa Molo's alliance with Futa Jallon plunged Kaabu into an existential war, culminating in the 1867 Battle of Kansala.
In 1880, Alfa Molo's former master Samba Egue rebelled, refusing to be ruled by someone of the slave class, but was defeated and killed.