Court of Appeal Reverses High Court Ruling on Controversial Bo Land
Alex Fefegula Harding The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision in a Bo District land dispute, restoring an earlier ruling that recognised the Kaimapo Family as the rightful owners of the contested property.
The decision was delivered Monday during the Court of Appeal’s sitting in Kenema, where judges also upheld a High Court judgment in a separate murder case involving Abdul Rahman Jalloh and the State.
According to the Judiciary of Sierra Leone’s Communications and Public Affairs Unit, the land dispute concerned property situated in Bayama Village, Kakua Chiefdom, Bo District.
The appeal challenged a Jan. 30, 2026, judgment of the High Court’s Local Appeals Division in Bo, which had ruled in favour of the Kobba Family and declared them the lawful owners of the disputed land.
The Kaimapo Family subsequently appealed on five grounds, raising concerns about alleged errors of law, misdirection, procedural irregularities and the weight of the evidence presented before the lower court.
Delivering the unanimous decision, Justice Fatmatta Bintu Alhadi, who presided over the panel, said the appellate court had reviewed the evidence and applicable law before reaching its conclusion.
The three-member panel, comprising Justice Alhadi, Justice Michael P. Mami and Justice Aiah Simeon Allieu, allowed the appeal and nullified the High Court’s judgment.
The judges also reinstated the concurrent decisions of the Local Court and District Appeal Court, which had ruled in favour of the Kaimapo Family, formally recognising them as the lawful owners of the property.
In the separate murder appeal involving Jalloh and the State, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s judgment. The Judiciary said it would publish a detailed account of that decision in a subsequent report.
The Kenema sitting forms part of Chief Justice Komba Kamanda’s initiative to expand access to justice by taking appellate court proceedings beyond Freetown.
The initiative has attracted commendations from stakeholders in Kenema District. The Judiciary reported that the city’s mayor praised the Chief Justice’s appointment and his efforts to bring judicial services closer to communities.
The proceedings mark another effort by the Judiciary to make appellate justice more accessible to people outside the capital.