The Chinese government has been urged to respect a court order in a case against defunct miners filed by some workers against railway companies over the unlawful dismissal of a  Chinese-built railway way linking Tonkolili Mines to the Port town of Pepel in Northern Sierra Leone.

The Lawyers representing victims in a case of abuse against a defunct Chinese miner have appealed to the Chinese government to ensure adherence to a court ruling on the matter.

The case against the Tonkolili Iron Ore Sierra Leone Limited and the African Rails and Ports Services, which were both subsidiaries of Shandong Iron and Steel Group Company Limited, was brought up by a group of nine former Sierra Leonean employees who were unlawfully dismissed by the companies operating in the country between 2015 and 2018.

The Sierra Leone government forcefully took possession of the companies’ assets, after accusing them of failing to meet their obligations to the country In 2020. The group accused the companies of causing them extreme emotional distress, breach of contract, and withholding salaries and National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) benefits.

The case was heard at the High Court of Makeni, where Justice Unisa Kamara ordered the company to pay the plaintiffs the sum of Six Billion Old Leones as compensation and the amount included 8 per cent of interest.

In his statement to the press, Chernor Mamud Benedi Jalloh, the head of the firm, said, they have sought diplomatic interventions severally for the company to effect their payment and believe that China has a very humane foreign policy to support Africa and African countries to advance in development.