Ganta, Nimba County – A group under the banner of Ganta Support Group has threatened to use violent means to reclaim their disputed properties in Ganta, Nimba County.
By Franklin Doloquee, correspondent
The group marched through the principal streets of Ganta, carrying placards illustrating how they have been denied justice following the ECOWAS Court ruling.
The Ganta Support Group claim to have been peaceful for the past 21 years, awaiting government intervention to remedy their plight, but the government has refused to implement the ECOWAS Court ruling in their favor.
According to the group, violence is the only means left to reclaim their lands after being denied justice in Ganta, Nimba County.
Speaking to journalists following their peaceful march, Mr. Saidu Kormah, chairman of the Ganta Support Group, said since they won the case against the Government of Liberia in the ECOWAS Court, the government has refused to implement the ruling by returning their properties.
He disclosed that their pending violent approach to reclaim ownership of their lands might result in fatalities.
Sekou M. Donzo claimed that the denial of justice would lead to another violent conflict in Ganta. He said they voted for President Joseph Boakai and Vice President Jeremiah Koung with the hope of resolving the conflict in Ganta, but they have refused to do so.
Sekou M. Donzo narrated that former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf spent millions of dollars to resolve the land conflict in Ganta, where people received compensation from the government to turn over properties, but some refused to comply.
The Vice Chairman of the Nimba County Mandingo Muslim Association, Demba Se-Soko Sackor, along with T. Aleo Jabateh and Sekou A. Sanoe, lamented that due to their properties being taken away, their children have not been able to return home to Liberia and continue to live in Guinea and Ivory Coast.
“We have been referred to as a small group and denied justice, but the pending radical approach will make the Mandingo communities recognized in society. This is not fair to us. We won the case against the government, so why can’t the ruling be implemented? The government’s failure to remedy the situation is leading to this pending radical approach to take ownership of our land in central Ganta,” said Sekou M. Donzo, on behalf of the group.
He was joined by Demba Se-Soko Sackor, Vice Chairman of the Nimba County Muslim Association, T. Aleo Jabateh, and Sekou A. Sanoe.
He said: “We want to act now. We have been peaceful for the past 21 years awaiting a remedy, but the government has refused. We will not sit down and see our land taken; we will use radical means to reclaim our properties. Justice delayed is justice denied.”
The aggrieved landowners in Ganta threatened to demand justice after being denied justice by the government despite the ECOWAS Court ruling.
Tension is mounting as landowners in Ganta, Nimba County, threaten to use force and violence to reclaim their land in central Ganta.
A group of Mandingo gathered in large numbers to address the media regarding their pending violent approach to reclaim their land.
Mr. Sakou A. Sanoe told journalists that he has the ability to carry out massive investments in Ganta, including the opening of streets and other developments, but they have not been treated well.
According to them, they have waited for the government’s intervention to remedy the situation, but the government has refused to act.
Their placards illustrated messages such as, “Nimba County land crisis is soon to be a generational issue, the Government of Liberia needs to act now! We want peace, we are peaceful, we want our ancestors’ land. The Mano, Gio, and Mandingo have long coexisted in Nimba County. Stop the oppression; enough is enough. The ECOWAS Court has ruled in favor of the aggrieved landowners. Why is the Government of Liberia delaying the implementation of the ECOWAS Court ruling?”
Our Nimba County correspondent reported that the aggrieved landowners in Ganta did not announce the date for their pending violent approach but instead carried out public awareness about their decision.
During the first conflict in 2023, several properties, including goods, were burned, and there has been no response from the national government.