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A family facing the demolition of its home in Freetown has accused officials linked to the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning of demanding money before they could discuss the status of their property.
The allegation emerged during a demolition exercise involving the National Protected Area Authority (NPAA), as affected residents pleaded with the authorities to give them more time to remove their belongings from their homes.
A mother, visibly distressed and crying as she questioned where her family would spend the night, appealed to the demolition team not to pull down their house.
“Please give us time to take out our properties out of the house; I would not be able to take my things out in this rain,” she pleaded.
However, the leader of the operation team rejected the request, saying the residents had been given several opportunities to vacate the area.
“No, there is no way we would give you more time because we are working by the law. We came here in June, July and even last week. We told all the residents of this area to move out,” the team leader said.
The family’s daughter subsequently challenged the authorities’ account of the previous warnings, explaining that during one of the visits, only one official came to their house and she was the person he met.
According to her, she had just returned from hospital after being ill when the official arrived. She said the official handed her a document, marked the walls of the house and asked whether she could read.
She said she read the document and asked what the family was expected to do next.
“He asked if we have documents and I said yes, we have full documents for the property. He asked us to go and meet them at their office,” she recounted.
The daughter said her mother and other affected residents subsequently went to the office following the invitation, but alleged that they were asked to pay money before they could engage with the officials.
“When they went there, they demanded money for us to talk to them,” she alleged.
Authorities present at the demolition exercise, however, denied the allegation and maintained that the office visited by the residents was not an office of the Lands Ministry.
The dispute has added another layer of tension to the ongoing demolition exercise, with affected residents maintaining that they possess documentation for their property while authorities insist that the residents were repeatedly instructed to vacate the area.
The demolition has left the affected family seeking urgent time to salvage their belongings amid the rain, while the authorities maintain that the operation is being carried out in accordance with the law.
