By Emma Black
After five long years of legal wrangling, emotional trauma, and systemic delays, justice has finally prevailed for the Musa family of Fornima, Goderich, the high court of Sierra Leone, presided over by Justice Adrian Fisher, has ordered the demolition of illegal structures erected by a junior employee of the ministry of lands, housing and country planning (MLHCP), Mr. Moses Sendor.
Mr. Sendor, a pupil surveyor at the MLHCP, was found guilty of constructing a commercial complex including a shop and entertainment center on a 14.8-foot access road legally belonging to the Musa family, the development was based on a falsified survey plan dated September 2, 2019 (LS 7639/19), which was inexplicably authenticated by senior MLHCP officials without a valid conveyance or payment documentation.
We couldn’t park our vehicles, build a fence, or safely occupy our home, said Mr. Joseph Musa. It disrupted every aspect of our lives and made us vulnerable to threats and trespassers, the Musa family legally acquired the property in 1998 and had lived peacefully there until 2016 when Sendor began erecting temporary zinc structures on the access road, despite warnings from police, legal notices, and a court injunction, he escalated construction, building permanent structures and even digging a well in the middle of the road.
The dispute brought to light a disturbing level of malpractice within the ministry, the falsified plan expanded Sendor’s original 0.1079-acre plot by an additional 0.0307 acres land taken directly from the Musa family’s access road, despite having no legal right to the land, Sendor proceeded with construction while ignoring multiple court orders.
Inspections by MLHCP’s technical officers and a court-appointed surveyor confirmed the encroachment. In 2020, Technical Officer Charles Senesie verified the illegal construction, a finding later echoed by Assistant Director of Country Planning, Engineer Musa Koroma, in a 2022 report. Koroma wrote, Mr. Sendor encroached on the 14.8-foot-wide access road, converting it into his private property.”
An arrest warrant issued in 2020 was never enforced due to a mysteriously missing court file, further compounding the Musa family’s frustration, on February 21, 2024, Justice Fisher ruled decisively in favor of the Musa family, declaring that Sendor had no legal claim to the land. He ordered the demolition of the structures and awarded the plaintiffs NLe 70,000 for trespass and NLe 50,000 in legal costs none of which have been paid, when Sendor’s legal team requested a stay of execution on February 7, 2025, citing financial hardship, Justice Fisher rejected the plea, emphasizing that financial issues could not justify further delay of justice.
Still, Sendor refused to comply with the court’s ruling, on August 9, 2024, the Musa family paid NLe 40,000 to MLHCP engineers, including Engineer Koroma, to carry out the demolition themselves, the structures that caused us years of suffering are finally gone, Mr. Musa said after the demolition, this victory is not just for us, but for all landowners affected by illegal encroachments and corruption.
The case has become a glaring example of the broader issues plaguing Sierra Leone’s land management system, falsified documents, complicit ministry officials, unenforced court orders, and bureaucratic failure all delayed justice, how could forged documents be accepted by the court, why were senior officials supporting this fraud, Mr. Musa questioned, we demand accountability and reform.
The family also voiced serious environmental concerns, warning that illegal construction in hilly areas like Fornima prone to landslides can be catastrophic, the 2017 mudslide taught us hard lessons, Mr. Musa said, Blocking drainage paths and access roads in such terrain is a recipe for disaster, despite multiple court rulings against him, Mr. Sendor remains defiant, he claims his lawyer did not inform him of the rulings and insists he was never cross-examined in court. Sendor further alleged political bias in the judgment, stating that he plans to reopen the case if a new government comes to power.
I am a peaceful citizen, he said, I have not lost this case, my lawyer said the matter is still ongoing, witnesses reported that during the demolition, Sendor attempted to halt the process by calling contacts at the Ministry, claiming that only the Ministry had the authority to authorize demolitions, however, court-appointed bailiffs proceeded after confirming the demolition order with the judiciary.
The Musa family’s ordeal has underscored the need for land reform and improved judicial enforcement in Sierra Leone, they are now calling on the government to investigate and hold all complicit officials accountable, we don’t want anyone else to go through this nightmare, Mr. Musa concluded, Justice was delayed, but at least, in the end, it wasn’t denied.”
Copy right –Printed in the Expo Times News on Monday, May 26TH, 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
