Dr. Turad Senessie
Lands Minister, Dr. Turad Senesie, is enjoying field day as he keeps taking possession of private lands under the pretext of state lands. Since being appointed to serve in that office, concerns and complaints from the public kept rising, with the majority expressing frustration, anger, and bitterness at the Minister and some of his officials, over what they described as a ‘‘corporate bully’’.
Dr. Turad Senessie, who is claiming to have the blessing and protection of President Julius Maada Bio, is offending members of the public, who are now crying for justice.
Among those who have filed a letter of complaint against the Minister is one Alpha Conteh, who resides in the United States of America, crying for justice. Conteh’s concern and complaint are similar to others who have been crying for justice, complaining to the same minister about corporate bullying on private lands.
The government through the Ministry of Lands has been in battle with private land owners, and the majority believe that the minister has been using his office to illegally dispossess people of what rightfully belongs to them.
Among the complaints brought to this medium is about a parcel of land stretching 4 acres along Peninsular Road in Tokeh, Western Area Rural of the Republic of Sierra Leone, property said to belong to a Sierra Leonean based in New York, the United States of America.
The claimant of the land in question, Alpha Conteh, said he bought it legally and rightfully 12 years ago from the Tokeh Headman at the time, Alhaji Slowe. Not only that, the 4-acre piece of land is registered in his family’s name at the Ministry of Lands, with the documentation signed by the Director of Lands and the then Minister, marking LS2012/19, LS2013/19, LS2014/19, LS3559/12, with each LS number amounting to one-acre.
According to Conteh, he subsequently sold one acre with the LS number 3559/12 to some people who wanted to build a school but noted that about some months ago, surprisingly, he was told that the said land is government property, even though there was no documentary proof to back up the claim.
He disclosed that upon visiting the Ministry to enquire how it came about for his land to be turned into a government property, one Mr Noah Fornah requested a meeting with him at a private hotel instead of his office, saying that he wanted to negotiate with him (Conteh) for half of the said land to be given to them (Fornah and Co).
“When I refused, the government ran a bulldozer and destroyed all of my fences, which enclosed the entire property with a gate. They also created several access roads across the property. They have since sold and distributed the entire property to several individuals, some of whom started putting up protective structures,” Mr Alpha Conteh revealed, adding that some months ago, he had cause to travel from New York to Sierra Leone in a bid to put things straight.
“I was able to see the Minister, but without even looking at my papers to ascertain my ownership of the property, he told me that the Ministry had the right to destroy and take my property, because “all land in Sierra Leone is government property unless it was granted to you by the government”.
“I told him that I went to the Ministry to vet the property before buying it and the Ministry gave me the green light that the property was ok to buy. So I bought it and paid taxes on it,” Mr Conteh lamented, disclosing how the Minister then told him to write him a letter and he would consider allocating a different piece of land to him (Conteh) elsewhere.
“This lands minister is giving the government a bad reputation. I have since taken the matter to Court and I am waiting for the hearing,” he stated, noting however that some of the people who bought parts of his property have started putting up structures.
Meanwhile, documents displayed and handed to this medium by Mr. Conteh to substantiate his claim of ownership to the land in question, included the conveyances, Police Report, and the Ministry charting room picture, suggesting the said property is not owned by the government and surrounded by other private property, an Encroachment Report done by an independent surveyor, and the return receipt or log book showing the registration of 3 of the acres.
When contacted for comments, the Communications Specialist at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning, Abdul Fonti Kabia, responded that the Ministry could not recall the specific case in point, but is fully aware that “the State has successfully reclaimed plots of State Land in the Western Area Rural communities, including Tokeh, that were illegally being claimed by land grabbers.”
According to him, the Ministry has not seen the roots of the title (master plan) that should prove Alhaji Slowe as the rightful owner of the plot of land in question, adding that the claimant has also not submitted the site plan signed by the Ministry to prove him as the owner of the plots of land he is claiming.
“In this circumstance, and with no trace of documents in the Ministry to prove his ownership to the said piece of land, we are left to believe land grabbers have duped timbers,” Abdul Fonti Kabia surmised and added: “We would be constrained to comment further on this matter, as you have informed us that the matter is currently in front of the court. It would be contemptuous at this stage to comment on the merit of this case.”
Meanwhile, this medium also contacted Alhaji Slowe, the Tokeh Headman, who confirmed the sale of the said parcel of land to Mr. Conteh.
He stated that the said parcel of land was a private property belonging to a certain family that unanimously agreed to sell it to Alpha Conteh with all relevant documents.
When asked about the Master Plan the ministry referred to in their response, the Headman stated, with no hesitation, that all the documents including the one referred to are in place.
Whether the ministry is playing games remains to be seen, but this medium will follow this matter to its logical conclusion.
