By Ragan M. Conteh

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on 18th September, 2024 had received complaint against Charlotte village headman Saidu Sesay. The complaint letter given to Mr. Saidu Sesay is in connection to a land grabbing affair at Charlotte village of plots and hectares of community land owned by the villagers but which are known to sell a part to private buyers mostly influential politicians.

The letter points to trespassing on the indigenes land owners and for insecurity and lawlessness in the community.

The undersigned indigenous land-owning families of Charlotte Village, are compelled to formally express their deep-seated grievances regarding the egregious and unlawful actions allegedly perpetrated by Mr. Saidu Sesay, the imposed headman of their community.

According to them the letter is to disconcert the collaboration with certain officials in the Ministry of Lands including Honorable Adama Conteh with individuals like Mr. William B. Leigh and Mr. Raymond John.

The letter stated that these individuals had instigated a perilous atmosphere of fear, lawlessness, and injustice that threatens the integrity and safety of their community.

The letter further stated that the situation has escalated to alarming levels.

“Our ancestral lands, having been passed down from our great-grandparents are under threat of unlawful and unwarranted appropriation. We possess all requisite documentation to verify our rightful ownership.” Thus, they continued, it is deeply troubling to us that 200 acres of land in Charlotte has reportedly been ‘donated to the Ministry of Lands through Mr. William Leigh and the headman himself without the consent of the appropriate land owning families.

The complaint revealed that the act obliterates their rightful claims to their lands which they had planned to develop into schools, markets, vocational training institutes, recreational playground, cemetery, and for a five acre land for the re-building of a Anne Walsh Memorial Secondary School adding it to the colonial and historical school at Kissy Road in Freetown.

The famous school was first established at charlotte village in the year 1849. This plans will benefit their present and future generation, the residents said.

Moreover, the letter went on that they have witnessed acts of intimidation and the illegal use of authority, as Mr. William B. Leigh and Mr. Raymond John who have been observed to be allegedly using RSLAF uniforms, misusing RSLAF vehicles for their own nefarious agendas.

The complaint letter stated that this militarization of a local issue not only seeks to coerce compliance but undermines the rule of law and erodes the trust that citizens must place in those who are supposed to serve and protect lives and properties.

It says these fraudulent activities are not merely violations of their rights but also they are acts of violence against their community.

The letter underscored that the climate of fear created by Mr. saidu Sesay, the headman and his associates has led to alarming incidents of harassment, intimidation, torture and assault.

The letter continued that, one particularly harrowing case involved their land caretaker, Mr. Abdulia Koroma, who sustained severe injuries requiring hospitalization after being brutally beaten by thugs aligned with the headman in the past.

Similarly, the letter said, Mr. Ibrahim Bangura was severely beaten, tortured and wrongfully accused of espionage. Ibrahim was accused too to have stolen a bag of cement and died later on the same day.

According to the letter the current imposed headman and his thugs established a tortured center called Benghazi where they brutally tortured people that are against their illegal activities.

“We are appalled by the chilling events that transpired on the 6th September 2024, when Captain Beale was openly threatened by William Leigh and Raymond John that he was the next person to be killed, right in front of the magistrate at court number six (6), explicitly referencing the execution of another victim”.

The letter further said that this willful act of intimidation within a judicial setting not only undermines the fabric of civil society but starkly underscores the urgent need for immediate government intervention.

The letter intimated that these violent outbursts and blatant acts of intimidation must be recognized as symptomatic of a broader system of corruption, wherein Mr. Saidu Sesay and his affiliates are implicated in manipulating legal processes to serve their own interests. The letter said through deceptive land surveys and fraudulent documentation, they are crafting illegal claims over properties that are rightfully theirs while jeopardizing the livelihoods of families and undermining the stability of their community as a whole.

Also, the letter said, the reckless actions of these individuals, including unauthorized construction activities and bulldozing of inroads in the designated areas have proned hills and mountains at Charlotte to a significant environmental risks capable of triggering mudslides and other ecological disasters.

This has further endangered the lives and welfare of residents.

At this critical juncture, the letter says, “we urgently seek your intervention as the Commissioner of anti- corruption; you bear a vital responsibility to protect the rights and well-being of the people of Charlotte village and the entire country.”

“We humbly request your immediate intervention and investigation on the ongoing land grabbing by the current headman, certain staff and surveyors in the ministry of lands, we therefore wish to draw your attention that there are massive land grabbing on our private lands”. Therefore, the letter states that, they are calling the ACC’s swift and professional intervention action in this matter, as Charlotte village has been one of the most peaceful and law abiding community.

Given these grave circumstances, the letter says they are respectfully requesting for the following actions:

To Conduct a Comprehensive Investigation: Please initiate a thorough and unbiased inquiry into the alleged violence, intimidation, and corruption surrounding Mr. Saiduu Sesay and his associates, with particular attention given to the assaults against villagers and threats made against individuals like Captain Beale who is also an indigenes and a current serving personnel in the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces.

“We kindly request the inundate closure of the tortured center called Benghazi and to also conduct independent investigation upon the death of Ibrahim Bangura.”

They said they have requested ACC’s noble office to immediately stop the illegal activities of deforestations, construction of inroads on the hills, mountains, the reserved and private lands.