LANDS MINISTER ABUSE OFFICE
…Bullies Conteh Family, Others
The Minister of Lands, Turad Senesie, has been accused of excessive abuse of power that has reached a critical point, with no one, not even the President, willing to reprimand him.
Since taking office as the Minister of Lands, Turad Senesie has been disregarding the rights of peaceful landowners and facilitating corruption in land transactions by exploiting individuals to benefit others.
The Minister has been exploiting innocent citizens, forcefully taking away their rightful property to make a substantial profit. He has been using land reclamation tactics to legitimize his actions, following the precedent set by previous Ministers of Lands.
During Denis Sandy’s tenure as Minister of Lands, he turned the Ministry into a business center, targeting private properties of citizens and converting them into state-owned land. This was done with the intention of selling the reclaimed land to the highest bidders willing to meet the demands set by the Ministry.
Sandy continued this practice until he was dismissed from his position. Turad Senesie has followed in Sandy’s footsteps but has been more discreet in his approach, leading many to believe that he is incorruptible.
Turad is a cunning Minister who aims to portray himself as the ideal candidate for the job. However, his actions contradict this facade. His interaction with Alpha Conteh, who claimed ownership of land in Tokeh Village, after reports surfaced that the Conteh family land had been declared state property, revealed his deceitful nature.
The usual protocol when the Ministry reclaims land is for occupants to provide proof of ownership before any further steps are taken. However, this was not the case for Alpha Conteh’s land in Tokeh Village.
Upon learning that the Ministry had reclaimed his family’s land, Alpha Conteh, based in the United States, traveled to Sierra Leone to present his land documents to the Ministry.
Before meeting with the Minister of Lands, a man claiming to be a Ministry of Lands staff, Mr. Noah Fornah, contacted Alpha offering to negotiate a compromise where he would receive half of the property. Alpha declined this offer.
Subsequently, Alpha presented his land documentation to Minister Senesie, who refused to acknowledge him. The Minister claimed that all land in Sierra Leone is state-owned unless specifically allocated by the Ministry. He then seized the Conteh family land and reportedly sold it to influential individuals, including senior police officers.
During an interview with Alpha Conteh, he recounted the history of the land in question, detailing his purchase of four acres from the former Tokeh Headman, Alhaji Slowe, 12 years ago. The land is registered in his family’s name and documented at the Ministry of Lands. Alpha expressed his disappointment at the Ministry’s actions, which resulted in the illegal sale of his family’s land.
This medium reached out to the Minister of Lands for comment, but he declined to respond to their inquiries.