Commentary

Many aggrieved Sierra Leoneans in the diaspora have lost their land ownerships and properties worth millions of United States dollars in the capital Freetown because of the alleged violation of their right to land ownership by the government through the Lands Ministry, while many other Sierra Leonean diaspora are now scared of land issues in Sierra Leone, let alone think of infrastructure development in the capital for lack of protection by the government.

Many concerned Sierra Leoneans in the United States, who recently spoke to this medium on condition of anonymity, raised serious concerns on incidents of land grabbing and the forceful eviction of citizens from their legally acquired lands by government through the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning without notification or compensation to the affected citizens.

One of the aggrieved Sierra Leonean claimed that he was in the US when the Lands Ministry forcefully evicted his people from the land he legally bought from the appropriate family members and authorities of John Obey Community and built a standard duplet on it, which the Lands Ministry claimed to be a state land.

"According to my people who were occupying the house before their eviction, the Lands Ministry used excess power on them without due process, which was a clear intimidation and violation of citizens' rights by deploying heavily armed personnel on someone's properties that legally belongs to the John Obey Community that obtained all the necessary documents to the effect," the aggrieved Sierra Leonean lamented.

Another diaspora citizen accused the Lands Ministry of corruption, mismanagement, and abuse of office, which often led to delays in the processing of land documents and other related matters.

"Instead of the government to encourage us in the diaspora to contribute to national development with fair concessions, the Lands Ministry is violating our rights to land ownerships and prioritising selling our lands to foreigners, while leaving us in frustration and lack of trust in the government," he fumed.

Many averred that Sierra Leoneans have rights to land ownerships and that it is the responsibility of the government to protect those rights.

"The government must stop violating the rights of the citizens, especially we in the diaspora, who have the opportunity to raise money here and invest at home," he said, adding, "The government needs to encourage us to embark on more development programmes back home instead of violating our rights to land ownerships."

It could be recalled that recently, His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio raised serious concerns regarding incidents of land grabbing in the country.

In his remarks, he pointed to the involvement of certain Members of Parliament and expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of specific members of the Sierra Leone Judiciary, which he believes has enabled or failed to prevent those unlawful activities.