Supreme Court supports Private Land Ownership under Sierra Leone

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…

Supreme Court Rules Against Minister  of Lands in Landmark Property Rights Case

Judiciary of Sierra Leone Communications, Law Court Building, Freetown, 6th February 2025:

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

Giving the judgment in the case of the Plaintiffs: Theophilus Pratt and Hawanatu Pratt v the Defendants: Dr Turad Senessie, Minister of Lands, the Director of Surveys, Abdul Rahman Sesay, Adonis Bull,  Sento Kamara and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, the Presiding Judge, Hon Justice Glenna Thompson (JSC) stated that the signature of the Director of Surveys on a survey plan is not merely perfunctory. It is a crucial step that indicates that the land is not state land.

The court held that it should be abundantly clear that private property cannot be forcibly removed from its rightful owners for any reason, except as provided for in the constitution and in accordance with the procedures set out in law.

“The State, or those acting on its behalf, must not, cannot, and should not arbitrarily enter into any private property claiming ownership, where the private person has valid deeds supported by a survey plan signed by the Director of Surveys.”

The court has now set out the criteria for damages for breach of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution and went on to award damages for trespass and damages for breach of section 21 of the Constitution against the 1st Defendant, Dr Turad Senessie, the Minister of Lands.

Other members of the Supreme Court panel were, Hon. Justice A. B. Halloway (JSC), Hon. Justice Alusine Sesay (JSC), Hon. Justice Abdulai Bangura (JSC), Honourable Justice R. S. Fynn JA.

For more inquiries, contact theJudiciary Communications on +23278244739/+23279101086/+23234617548 or visit our website onwww.judiciary.gov.sl