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The High Court in Bo has delivered judgment in a long-standing land dispute involving 285 acres of land in Bayama Village, Kakua Chiefdom, Bo District.
The judgment, handed down on Friday, January 30, 2026, by Hon. Justice Francis Banks-Kamara, followed an appeal between Pastor James Kobba, Ishmael Kobba, Martin Kobba and the Kobba Family of Bayama Village, and Steven Kaimapo and the Kaimapo Family of Pindengumahun Village.
In its ruling, the Court declared the Kobba family as the rightful owners and persons entitled to ownership of the entire 285 acres of land in dispute. The land, described under a Master Plan, covers the bush area currently under contention in Bayama Village, Southern Province of Sierra Leone.
The Court ordered the Respondents to immediately vacate the said land and hereditaments. A perpetual injunction was also granted restraining the Respondents, their agents, servants, workers, or anyone acting on their behalf from disposing of, interfering with, or in any way dealing with the disputed property.
In a significant development, the High Court set aside the earlier judgment of the District Appeal Court holden at Magistrate Court No. 1 in the Bo Judicial District, dated June 28, 2024, which had addressed the same parcel of land. That ruling has now been dismissed and replaced with the January 30, 2026 High Court judgment.
The Court further addressed the position of third-party purchasers who acquired portions of the disputed land from Steven Kaimapo and/or the Kaimapo family prior to the commencement of the action at Kakua Local Court No. 1 in 2017.
According to a public notice issued by Kakua Chambers, Barristers and Solicitors of the High Court of Sierra Leone, purchasers who have already constructed houses on the land are required to negotiate with the Kobba family and repurchase the land at 50 percent of their original purchase cost. Those whose plots remain undeveloped are to negotiate for repurchase at a fair value.
Members of the public affected by the ruling have been advised to contact Kakua Chambers at No. 10 Fenton Road, Bo, to regularize their interests in compliance with the Court’s decision. The notice states that the window for compliance remains open until March 31, 2026.
