Supreme Court supports Private Land Ownership under Sierra Leone Law

The Supreme Court of Sierra Leone has issued a landmark ruling in support of Private Land Ownership under the Sierra Leone Law.

On the 6th February, 2025, Supreme Court ruled that private citizens cannot be forcibly removed from their land, as Section 21 of the 1991 Constitution guarantees the protection of private property.

If the ruling by the Supreme Court is anything to go by, then Alpha Conteh who has also suffered similar fate in the hands of the same Lands Minister should be consider under this ruling.

Alpha Conteh has been crying for justice for over five years when his four acre of land at Tokeh Village, West of Freetown  was unlawfully taken from him by Lands Minister Dr. Turad Senessie.  Since he assumed office as Lands Minister, Dr. Senessie has stepped on the toes of many people of which majority are private land owners.

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that Private land Owners have right to own land, I wonder what will happen to the many cases of private lands under investigations of which the same Lands Minister he said to have bullied and unlawfully took possession of lands belonging to private individuals under the pretext of reclaiming state land.

For ease of reference, please see the official report of the Supreme Court Ruling against Lands Minister Dr. Turad Senessie verbatim as authored by the Sierra Leone Judiciary Communications Department…