The Native Administration Court Number Four in Kenema City has ruled on the ownership of a disputed piece of land situated on Maada Bio Street which the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Moriba Koroma, had claimed belongs to the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP).
The land in question was leased by the state to journalist Sheikh Mustapha Bawoh in 2019, which he had partially developed with two outstand structures.
However, in November 2023, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Moriba Koroma, claimed that the said land belonged to the ruling SLPP. His claim turned out to be a ploy to give a notorious land grabber, Mamabu Vonjo Kaisamba, the opportunity to commence an unauthorized construction on the land on the pretext that it was an SLPP property.
But the local court, in its ruling on Wednesday 30 October 2024, dismissed the Deputy Minister’s claim as false and subsequently granted the verdict of ownership to the complainant, Sheikh Mustapha Bawoh while ordering the respondent to quit the said land within fourteen days after the verdict if he does not appeal the judgment.
The Court Clerk, James Borbor Kanneh who read the judgment, said evidence and testimonies from both the land owing family of the disputed land and those from the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning all confirmed Mr Bawoh as the legitimate owner of the said land.
James Borbor Kanneh said the Town Chief of Kenema, Chief Momoh Gombulango, testified that his family was aware of the transaction, which granted the ownership of the said land to the complainant, Sheikh Mustapha Bawoh.
Similar evidence came from the Lands Ministry as all documents relating to the acquisition and retention of the said land by the complainant were tendered in evidence.
The Court Clerk said in June 2024, the complainant’s representative, Joseph Samba Kaifala Jnr., made his statement and was cross examined in court.
Asked how the complainant Sheikh Mustapha Bawoh acquired the land, the clerk quoted the representative of the complaint, Mr Joseph Samba Kaifala jnr. to have said that his man acquired the land through the rightful means mentioning the Gombulango Land owing family and the Ministry of Lands.
The ruling is reported to have been welcomed in most quarters in Kenema