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A potentially precedent-setting decision is expected from the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone as it begins a fast-tracked review of a long-standing land ownership dispute involving property at 20 Bojon Street in Bo City.
Legal analysts say the ruling could significantly influence the country’s jurisprudence on land tenure, leasehold arrangements, and title determination areas that have remained heavily contested for decades.
Presided over by the Honourable Chief Justice Komba Kamanda, the Supreme Court has directed that the appeal filed by Edward Garnem through his Solicitor, M.P. Fofanah Esq., against Fannah Jawara and the Jawara Family, represented by Tuma Jabbie & Co., be heard and concluded without further delay. The empanelled Justices, Chief Justice Kamanda, Justice Alusine Sesay (JSC), and Justice Tonia Barnett (JA) have further ordered that the settlement of the Records of Appeal be completed within 14 days.
The case, which originated almost ten years ago in the Local Court in Bo, has travelled through several judicial layers before reaching the apex court. It centres on competing claims over the true ownership of the Bojon Street property claims that hinge on intricate questions of leasehold rights, historical land use, and title documentation.
Legal observers note that the Supreme Court’s decision will not only resolve the dispute between the Garnem and Jawara families but also provide much-needed clarity on how land ownership in the provinces should be interpreted under existing Sierra Leonean law. Such clarity is especially crucial as land disputes continue to form a large proportion of civil cases in the country.
In a previous development, the appellant sought an injunction to restrain the respondents and one Musa Koroma from accessing or interfering with the disputed property.
The Supreme Court declined to grant the injunction. However, in a move aimed at protecting potential third-party rights, the Court ordered that Musa Koroma be formally joined to the appeal as an interested party.
With the Court signalling its intention to bring the matter to a definitive close, legal practitioners and stakeholders in land administration are closely monitoring the proceedings. A conclusive ruling, they say, may help prevent similar disputes from languishing for years across the court system and may also guide future judicial decisions on land matters.
As the Supreme Court prepares to issue what could become a landmark judgment, the case stands poised to shape the contours of Sierra Leone’s land law for years to come.
