Opposition Whip Exposes Lands Minister
By Abdul Rahman Bah
The Opposition Whip of the APC party on Thursday 13th February 2025, in the Well of the Sierra Leone’s Parliament has launched a fierce attack on the Minister of Lands, Housing, and Country Planning Dr. Turad Senesie.Hon. Abdul Karim Kamara, the Opposition Whip, has exposed the growing concerns of land grabbing, poor governance, and the suffering of ordinary citizens due to inefficiencies in the land sector. “We cannot continue to have a system where people’s properties are seized without due process,” Hon. Kamara declared. Land grabbing must stop! For six years, I have been a victim myself, and if this can happen to a sitting Member of Parliament, imagine what happens to the voiceless citizens out there!” He emphasized the importance of land to the Sierra Leone’s economy, noting that it plays a key role in both private sector investment and the daily livelihoods of citizens. He called for immediate reforms, highlighting how unresolved land disputes discourage investors and create economic instability. Hon. Kamara expressed his frustration that neither the Minister of Lands nor senior ministry officials were present at the session, calling their absence a clear sign of “poor coordination and lack of accountability.” He warned that such disorganization would create further obstacles for the incoming Land Commissioner, who would be walking into a deeply problematic system. Sharing his personal experience, Kamara revealed that he bought a piece of land in 2007 and spent 15 years protecting it. “For 15 good years, I defended my land with all the legal documents. Then, suddenly, the Ministry of Lands declared it as state land. While I was busy trying to resolve the issue with the ministry, another individual—backed by corrupt officials—built a house on my land within a month!” he recounted. “When I finally took the matter back to the ministry, they ruled that the land was indeed mine. But did I get it back? No! For six years, I have waited, and nothing has been done. Even as an MP, I was denied justice. If this is happening to me, how much worse is it for ordinary Sierra Leoneans who have no connections?” Kamara accused the Ministry of Lands of engaging in systematic land grabbing, highlighting a recent court ruling in which private landowners won a case against the ministry. “For the first time, we saw a court ruling being celebrated by CNN,” he said. “That tells you how much our people have suffered!” He criticized the government for seizing land belong to families for generations and arbitrarily declaring entire villages as state land. “Are we saying the state no longer has proper land records? How can you go to a village where people have lived for decades and suddenly tell them their land no longer belongs to them? This is nothing but injustice!” Hon. Kamara warned that the reckless land policies could lead to devastating consequences. “The Ministry is giving out land to people, but what happens when the courts later rule against those allocations? Will they demolish people’s homes? This is a crisis in the making!” In his closing remarks, he gave a strong piece of advice to the nominee for Land Commissioner: “You are walking into a fire. I hope you are ready. If you are a Muslim, start praying ten times a day because the corruption and mismanagement in this ministry are beyond imagination!” His passionate speech left Parliament in deep reflection, shining a spotlight on the urgent need for reforms in Sierra Leone’s land sector. With mounting public pressure and legal challenges against the ministry, all eyes are now on the government to see if it will take meaningful action to address the crisis.
