Liberia: Fendall-Louisiana Land Dispute Deepens; Two Persons Brutalized

Fendell – Two persons have complained about brutality meted against them by one Blama Wright, as crisis deepens in Fendall-Louisiana land dispute.

Report by Willie N. Tokpah/0777039231 ([email protected])

The aggrieved residents have complained that Mr. Wright has “incriminated, sued and jailed” on false allegations.

Benedict S. Kamara and Isaac Gokailah are two persons alleging that they were brutalized by thugs acting on the orders of Mr. Wright.

“We were on our way back on a motorbike from the survey with L$150,000 and US$2,500 when Blama and his men started chasing us with a pickup, as soon as we got down from the bike and began to run in the community, they started calling us armed robbers,” explains Kamara.

“So people rush on us and started to beat on us along with Blama and his men, until later, someone recognized us and we were rushed to the clinic for treatment,” Gokailah added.

According to them, they had gone to conduct a survey for two lots of land as bond fee in a lawsuit filed against them by Mr. Wright at the Omega Magisterial Court.

The two are complaining of severe pain in their body, which they said has made them unable to go about their normal basis.

They are calling on the government to swiftly intervene into the situation before it goes out of control.

However, the aggrieved Louisiana residents through their spokesperson Prince Dolo says the aggrived residents have been avoiding Mr. Wright’s several attempts to spark conflict over the long standing land dispute.

“If the government does not come in, I think it will be another story because we will not sit by and allow Blama Wright to constantly terrorize and wound our people. It’s time that government comes in to conduct a a survey so that this issue can be laid to rest,” Dolo cautioned.    

The dispute has been ongoing for almost two years as opposing sides claim legitimacy of approximately 500 acres of land.

Mr. Dolo noted that residents of Samukai Town, Sass Town, Kpajah Town and some parts of Fendall are being harassed, intimidated and in most instances terrorize by Mr. Wright and his thugs.

He claimed that Mr. Wright seems irresistible in the act due to his apparent connection with ranking officials of government.

Members of the Central Fendall Development Organization stormed the Liberia National Police Headquarters demanding attention into the land dispute which has seen brutality and harassment.

Since then, Dolo said the Liberia National Police has given no attention to their plight and things are becoming worse for aggrieved residents of the Louisiana Township.

Dolo said the community has written a complaint to Chief Justice Francis Korkpor and Justice Minister Frank Musa Dean, Representative Lawrence Morris and Police Inspector General Patrick Sudue about the situation.

We also wrote President Weah on January 18, 2019 on this matter, requesting his intervention, Dolo said.

He accused Wright of encroachment on their properties and obstructing a survey ordered by the Probate Court on February 4, 2017, which was to be conducted on 35 acres of land in Kpahnjah Town.

“Blama controls three different groups of gangs which he used to terrorize and intimidate landowners to leave their properties [so that he can] claim ownership of it,” he alleged.

FrontPage Africa has not been able to get comments from Mr. Wright but a previous reaction to an FPA inquiry in January 2019, he said the current misunderstanding between him and those aggrieved is “far beyond just land dispute but extend to a misunderstanding between family line and inhumane treatment meted against his legal representative.”

He said those calling for justice are intending to “save their faces” from a “malicious act” carried out in the area against his lawyer whose name he withheld.

Wright said the court on December 24, 2018, ordered the arrest of those involved with the brutality and ill-treatment of his legal representative sometimes in 2010.