During the approval of the presidential Appointees on Thursday, February 13, 2025, the opposition APC Chief Whip in Parliament, Hon. Abdul Karim Kamara, launched a scathing attack on the Minister of Lands, Housing, and Country Planning, Dr. Turad Senesie, insisting he has surrounded himself with what he described as the “Turad Boys.”

He expressed deep frustration over the ongoing ugly issues in the land sector, calling for urgent reforms and better governance to protect citizens from unlawful land grabbing and bureaucratic inefficiencies.

Hon. Kamara began by acknowledging the critical role of land in Sierra Leone’s economic development.

He emphasized that land is not just a means of shelter but a key driver of investment, economic growth, and individual prosperity.

He lamented the challenges within the land sector, stressing that land is essential for both private sector investment and the livelihoods of ordinary Sierra Leoneans, from urban developers to rural farmers.

He underscored the importance of appointing a competent Lands Commissioner who understands the sector’s problems and can implement meaningful reforms.

He expressed his astonishment that at such a crucial moment, neither the Minister of Lands nor his senior officials were present in Parliament to engage in discussions about the nominee for the Lands Commission.

He interpreted their absence as a sign of poor coordination and a lack of commitment to solving the deep-seated issues plaguing the land sector.

He warned that this disorganization would hinder effective collaboration between the Lands Commission and the Ministry, making the work of the incoming commissioner even more challenging.

Turning to his personal experience, Hon. Kamara shared a painful account of how he had been a victim of land injustice for six years. He revealed that he purchased a piece of land in 2007 and spent 15 years defending his ownership.

Despite having all the necessary legal documents, officials from the Ministry of Lands later declared the property as state own. While he was in discussions with the ministry’s officials to resolve the issue, another individual swiftly built a house on his land within just one month.

When he took the matter back to the ministry, they eventually ruled in his favor and ordered that the land be returned to him. However, despite these rulings, the ministry failed to enforce its own decision.

He described how he personally appealed to the Minister of Lands, requesting that his land be relocated rather than demolishing the newly built house. However, for six long years, no action was taken, and his land remained out of his reach. If such injustice could happen to a sitting Member of Parliament, he questioned how much worse the situation must be for ordinary citizens who have no voice or influence. He painted a grim picture of the ministry’s inefficiencies, highlighting that the very minister who allocated the land to him in 2008 was the same one who later authorized its confiscation.

The lawmaker went on to expose what he called a systematic and deliberate pattern of land grabbing by ministry officials.

He cited the recent landmark court ruling against the Ministry of Lands, where private landowners successfully challenged illegal land acquisitions by the government. He noted that this ruling was widely celebrated; even making headlines on international media outlets like CNN, an indication of how much Sierra Leoneans have suffered under unjust land policies. He criticized the government for seizing land that had been in families for generations and arbitrarily declaring entire villages as state land, stripping communities of their ancestral homes.

He warned of the dangerous consequences of such reckless land policies.