A land dispute in Margibi County has left an entire property destroyed, including a tomb burst open and a dead body reportedly taken away.
The dispute is between Fulani and Victim Kolubah K. K. Nyankamah, Jr. Kolubah, a citizen of Lofa County who settled in Margibi, lost his properties, his late mother's tomb, and his entire village when officers of the Police Support Unit accompanied a group of young men described as zogoes to allegedly enforce a court mandate.
The NEW DAWN gathered that the damaging incident occurred on Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Larkayta Township, Margibi County District # 4, particularly along Bong Mines Road, not far away from Sackie Gbonmon Community, near Kakata.
While the Milans, who are currently in the United States, are still fighting to forcefully possess seventy-five acres of disputed land that Victim Kolubah K.K. Nyankamah, Jr., has resided on and developed for about ten years, Iddris Jalloh and Sulamani Jalloh allegedly sent a bus filled of disadvantaged young Liberians alias Zogoes, accompanied by 25 armed Police Support Unit or PSU Officers drove on the premises and broke down houses, chicken poultry, making away with pigs, crops and destroyed the victim's mother's tomb.
The PSU Officers presented a document they claimed to be an eviction order from the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Kakata, Margibi County, without the signatures of the Judge or the clerk of the court, but only bears the Judge's stamp, according to Victim Nyankamah.
He had planted large crops, including cassava, rubber, coconut, coaco, plum on the land beside animal husbandry and built several houses,living there with his workers which all became history over a week ago.
His mother's tomb, built about three years ago with cement and steel rods and designed with white tiles, was also broken, and the casket, according to sources, was destroyed, and the guys who executed the mandate from the court removed the already decayed remains and took it away in plastic.
The situation led villagers to flee the area for their lives, as folks hailing from the village belonging to the Milans ran away too to an unknown location in fear of possible revenge from Mr. Nyankamah, Jr.
Nearby villages within the same region are gradually turning to ghost towns because they fear the situation could escalate into something else.
However, people who are braving the storm to live there now go to bed as early as 6:00 p.m. A female student who attends one of the schools in Kakata but lives in the area said they go to bed as early as 6:00 p.m. and don't come out at night until 6:30 a.m.
For days now, traditional people have ordered country devils to take seize of the place while investigations are ongoing into the matter.
The NEW DAWN has been hinted that some supporters and sympathizers of the Victim Nyankamah, Jr., who were not identified, are planning to launch a counterattack and get rid of the Fulanis and all those associated with them if they are found in the disputed area, for willful disrespect to their tradition.
One unidentified man remarked in an angry mood: "This nonsense and disadvantage that happened, your get ready to always be coming here for dangerous news."
When asked what he meant, the man whose back was turned and already walking toward the direction of another village in the bush replied without turning around: "Time will tell; let the government overlook this case!"
The farm Manager of the Fulani, only identified as Blama, who is heavily blamed by residents in the area for coordinating the acts in favor of his Boss, is now on the run for fear for his own life while his family members live in fear too.
Blama, according to what was gathered, had been instructed by his bosses, the two Milans, who are in the United States, to mobilize a ten men squad to carry on the act, but got afraid after getting the men together, who informed him that they could not do carry on such act against their people.
He then told his bosses that the men, citizens of the place, declined to break down the Fulani village. At this point, Iddris Jalloh and Sulamani Jalloh sent Zogoes and 25 armed PSU Officers the same day.
Blama had hinted to someone days earlier that Mr. Nyankamah's area would be attacked by his Fulani bosses.
Local authorities in the area have expressed dismay over the situation and noted that they have never witnessed any destruction by foreign nationals who disregard citizens.
According to the investigation, the Jallohs have said they are willing and ready to do anything to remove Mr. Nyankamah from the land completely because he occupies a portion of it that contains diamonds and other valuable minerals.
A local chief approached them and advised them to leave Mr. Nyankamah. However, they told the chief that the place the man was occupying had what they wanted, so he must vacate, or they will force him to leave.
The Fulani were unable to be reached after nearly a week of efforts by this paper on Sunday, May 12, 2024, as they are currently out of the country, and the only man (Blama) in the country through which they could be contacted is on the run with no available contact.
Speaking to our reporter via mobile phone, Kolubah disappointingly gave the issue's historicity as far back as 2014.
He narrated the Jallohs had gone to conduct an investigative survey after they bought land from one of the grandchildren of a man identified as Pigney King in the same area.
According to him, the land seller wrongfully included a part of the disputed area, adding that on the day of the survey, when he presented his Deed for the land, the former Senior Land Surveyor of Margibi, Henry Lamadine, dismissed the Deed.
He said they (parties) ended in a serious disagreement that caused the Fulani and the surveyor to leave the area.
Kolubah continued that the next day, he was invited to the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Kakata, where Judge Chenoweth interrogated him about several things related to the land. His response to her then was that he could not speak in the absence of his lawyer, Cllr. Levali Supuwood, because the Fulani were speaking through their lawyer, Victoria Worlobah Duncan, now Superintendent of Margibi.
The County Information Officer of Margibi, to whom Superintendent Duncan referred media people, told our reporter to be professional and take it easy instead of linking his Boss, the Superintendent, to the land dispute.
Kolubah said the matter was rescheduled for a later date, and he was unable to show up because he was attending to a major breakdown on his farm.
He said that after that day, he was charged with contempt of court and incarcerated for about 24 hours but released later. The following Monday, after he was placed behind bars, he said the Judge summoned him, and he was wrongly jailed.
He said the matter ceased for some time, and then he realized that the land did not belong to George David, who sold it to him when his (George's surveyor), John Dumbar, gave him a deed that didn't match the land.
However, Mr. Dumbar has not responded to calls and text messages from our reporter regarding the issue, as he is the man through whom George David can be easily reached.
But Kolubah narrated that Alex Cheeks, the real owner of the land, had agreed to sell it and turn over the original deeds to him because he paid less than US$10K to George David.
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He said that while he was in conversation with the real owner of the land, the Fulani were fighting him because the grandchild of the Kings told them to drive him from the land so that he could sell it to them since they desperately needed it.
The grandson of Mr. Kings (late) has never shown up, but he is being represented by another person with whom residents say they don't have any contact.
He said it is expected that a battle will be between the Kings and the Cheeks instead of the Fulani coming to fight him, as they don't own the land.
He expressed surprise that they went to the place suddenly and destroyed everything he had there, including his mother's tomb.
He noted that on the day of the act, he had left the village to attend to something else when he received a call that the Police were at his place, breaking down everything along with Zogoes.
Kolubah said that when he got on the scene, he was presented with a document without the signatures of the Judge or the clerk of court, which they termed an eviction order from the court.
"Can I leave from here and go to Mali and kick Malian out of their place, break their home, break the building, burst their mother's grave or their whoever relative is there, burst their grave and open it? Since Saturday, Ma's grave has been open. Can you imagine?" He lamented.
He said even if the court finds him guilty, he doesn't have a problem, but when Alex picks up his case against the Kings and the Fulani and wins, the latter will pay for all the damages they caused.
He calls Margibi Superintendent Duncan, President Boakai, and Vice President Jeremiah Koung to intervene because he is a law-abiding citizen.
