A reported brawl in the afternoon hours of Monday, March 25th, 2024 has left a farmer in Mabai village, Kholifa Mabang Chiefdom, in the Tonkolili District, Northern Sierra Leone with a bullet wound after he was allegedly shot by a group of men from a nearby village.

The victim, Abu Kamara of Mabai village was reportedly attacked in his farm by a group of youths led by alias Abiba and Abdul Kanu alias Upper Six all of Ropothka village.

Though Mabai in Kholifa Mabang Chiefdom and Ropothka in Yoni Mamaila Chiefdom are neighboring villages and have had inter-marriages before, long-term land disputes have weakened the cordial relationship between the two communities. It was part of the disputed land in Makomp that the victim and the other farmers from Mabai were working on when they were allegedly attacked by the men from Ropothka, according to reports.

While at the farm, Kamara, the farmer who allegedly sustained a bullet wound said he was shot with a hunting gun by one of the youths from the Ropothka village nicknamed Abiba. The victim and other sources confirmed that they saw several youths from the aforementioned village with hunting and locally made guns and several gunshots were reportedly fired.

Ismail Kamara, a Local Policing Partnership Board member in Kholifa Mabang Chiefdom reported that he wasn’t at the scene but he heard the sound of the gunshots.

“It was in the afternoon hours when everyone in the village had gone to their farms when we heard the sounds of the gunshots from Makomp [a disputed farming site]. It was after some time we saw some men in the village [Mabai] with Abu Kamara [the victim] with blood on his right hand. The men who had gone to their farms told us they were attacked by a group of youths from Ropothka village,” Ismail Kamara, the LPPB member said.

Yusif Turay, a resident said they were on their respective farms at a particular place called Makomp when they saw a large number of people coming and it was after they were closely approached by the men that they recognized who they were.

Turay said he couldn’t recognize all of the men, but he says he was able to identify John Abiba Kanu, Abdul Kanu (alias Upper Six), Pa Alie Sankoh, Pa Issa Kanu, Alie Koroma and John P. Kanu (alias Ponko).

The altercation, he stated flared when they refused to stop the work and return home after the men from Ropothka village ordered them to do so. It was during the said alterations Turay said Abiba shot at the victim on the right hand.

At that juncture, the men he said were shooting continuously. Realizing that the matter was getting out of hand, Turay said they all had to run home while the men were still shooting.

All of the men accused went into hiding when the police visited the Ropothka village. This reporter also visited the village at the time of the Police visit but all of the men were on the run.

Mile 91 Division Local Unit Commander, CSP Michael JK Lagga has not commented on the story when reached over the Phone. But a Police source says the Mile 91 Police Division is investigating the matter and issued a Police Medical form to the farmer.