Reports reaching the Daily Observer Newspaper indicate that Minister of Internal Affairs, Francis Nyumlin, is doing all in his power to thwart the efforts of the Liberia Land Authority, which is working in rural communities on a customary land formalization initiative.
While the LLA is currently in Lofa to showcase to its partners, some efforts made in the land sector, Minister Nyumalin is said to have instructed local officials in Lofa County to avoid attending a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) sponsored Land Management Activity (LMA) ceremony. The event was meant to hand over customary land deeds to citizens in Lower Tengia and Wonegizi districts.
The LMA is a USAID-funded project that is working with the LLA to help customary communities acquire (for the first time in their history) legal title to their lands.
The LLA is Liberia's land regulatory agency charged with implementing the Land Reform Rights Act of 2018, including its provisions on land rights for customary communities.
The ceremony aimed to help customary communities gain legal title to their lands, as part of the LMA and LLA collaboration. Customary communities, which lack official tenure rights, have been working towards formalizing their land rights under the Land Reform Rights Act.
However, Minister Nyumlin's alleged actions suggest a political disagreement with LLA Chairman Atty J. Adams Manobah may have influenced his decisions, observers believe.
Despite the Minister's directive, LLA Chairman Manobah affirmed that the deeds would still be handed over to the communities as planned, emphasizing the importance of the ongoing improvements in the land sector.
USAID officials expressed unawareness of Minister Nyumlin's involvement, while the local superintendent confirmed being instructed to abstain from the event without clear reasons provided.
As investigations continue, the community members in Lofa County expressed disappointment over the Minister's alleged interference, which they fear may compromise the progress in land rights implementation in the President's home region.
Customary communities are typically rural communities that have occupied their lands subject to traditional rules and norms, but without any recognizable tenure rights.
According to sources within the land sector, the citizens of Lower Tengia in Foya District and Wonegizi in Zorzor District have over the years completed the customary land formalization process as defined by the Liberia Land Authority in the Land Rights Act of 2018.
The citizens told our reporter, who is in Lofa County to attend the deeds turning over ceremony, that Minister Francis Nyumlin has been hugely campaigning for the dismissal or removal of Atty. Manobah because he did not support the Unity Party in the 2023 elections.
They emphasized that Chairman Manobah's removal could jeopardize ongoing improvements in the land sector under his chairmanship.
Moreover, the Liberia Land Authority Chairman Atty J. Adams Manobah said Internal Affairs Minister Francis S. Nyumlin had not informed him regarding his stay away from the program on July 19-20, 2024.
He said per the law of the Liberia Land Authority; they are going to turn over the deeds to the affected communities, even if Minister Francis Nyumlin is not in attendance.
However, one of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Land Management Activity (LMA) officials, who begged for anonymity, said they are not aware of the information regarding Minister Nyumlin's action.
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When contacted Lofa County Superintendent J. Lavelah Massaquoi, admitted that he had been instructed by the Internal Affairs Minister Francis Nyumlin not to attend the USAID Liberia and Liberia Land Authority Customary Land Deeds turning over ceremony in the County.
Massaquoi said the minister didn't provide a reason why he [Massaquoi] should not attend the ceremony.
However, when contacted, the Internal Affairs Minister Francis Nyumlin, through phone calls his phone rang endlessly without response and text messages.
Thousands of residents, including local authority, traditional leaders, senior elders, women, and youth groups in Lower Tengia Clan Community, and Wonegizi in Zorzor District in high spirits to grace the ceremony on July 19-20, 2024 in Lofa County, but with Internal Affairs Minister involved has undermined USAID Liberia and Liberia Land Authority effort in the President's own home County.
