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The long-standing struggle of displaced property owners in Kono District for legal recognition and redress has taken a significant turn, as the Court of Appeal has granted the Marginalised Affected Property Owners (MAPO) the green light to proceed with their case against a major diamond mining company.
In a landmark decision delivered on Thursday, October 16, 2025, by Justices Reginald Sydney Fynn, Sulaiman Ahmad Bah, and Amy Wright, the appellate court ordered that the matter be sent back to the Chief Justice for possible reassignment to a trial judge in the lower courts.
The ruling effectively revives the hopes of dozens of local landowners, led by Aiah Fengai, who had previously seen their case dismissed by the High Court in 2022 on grounds of lack of jurisdiction.
The Court of Appeal not only reinstated the case but also granted an injunction restraining the mining company from “selling, disposing of, or in any way alienating” its assets pending the final determination of the matter. The judges further ruled that the earlier injunction remains valid unless a trial judge orders otherwise. Octea, the mining company, was also directed to pay the cost of the appeal.
For the affected residents, the ruling symbolizes more than a legal victory, it is an affirmation that local communities have the right to seek justice against powerful corporate interests.
MAPO’s members have long argued that their ancestral lands were taken without adequate compensation or proper consultation, leaving them economically displaced. Their legal challenge, which had been consolidated into one matter, was struck out by the High Court in October 2022. Not satisfied, they pursued an appeal, citing 13 grounds, including alleged misdirections by the trial judge regarding their legal standing and the principle of privity of contract.
Octea’s counsel, Drucil Taylor, maintained that the appellants lacked the legal capacity to sue and that they should have used the company’s internal grievance mechanisms before turning to the courts.
However, the Court of Appeal’s latest decision opens the way for the substance of their claims, concerning land rights, compensation, and corporate accountability, to finally be heard in full.
For the residents of Kono, the ruling is not just a procedural win; it is a renewed opportunity to have their voices heard in a system that too often seems inaccessible to those on the margins of economic power.
