By Mabinty M. Kamara
Lawyers for the Marginalised Affected Property Owners (MAPO) of Kono, Eastern Sierra Leone are set to appeal the decision of High Court Judge Unisa Kamara J. in a class action law suit against a Diamond Mining Company named Koidu Limited.
The High Court of Sierra Leone which sat in Makeni Northern Leone on Thursday 27th October 2022 delivered the long-awaited ruling on the matter between the affected property owners in the diamond mining district of Kono, and the company.
Speaking to Politico, Daniel Fofanah, one of the lawyers representing the Plaintiff said they were not satisfied with the ruling by the high court and that they will therefore appeal the decision by next week.
Tamba Prince Boima, Chairman of MAPO also expressed dissatisfaction that their case was dismissed on the grounds that they have no capacity to sue the company being that the group was not in existence as at the time of the signing of the agreement.
“We do not feel good about the ruling. He said we do not have a legal right to sue the company to court and that it should be members of the Peace Building committee that signed the agreement which comprised the paramount chief and other government officials,” Boima said. He questioned why citizens should not have the right to sue people for their own properties.
‘’We will appeal our case because we are the ones feeling the pains of their actions,” Boima vowed.
The court ruling states that the mining lease agreement between the government of Sierra Leone and Koidu Ltd “provides that the parties shall in good faith endeavor to reach an amicable settlement of all differences of opinion or disputes which may arise between them which may arise between them in respect to the execution, performance and interpretation of this agreement and in respect to rights and obligations of the parties under this agreement’’.
According to the ruling, none of the procedures mentioned in the agreement for grievance mechanism was followed by the plaintiffs and that the Marginalized Affected Property Owners were not in existence at the time of the agreement and not a signatory to any of the agreement, and that no good faith endeavor to reach an amicable resolution of disputes has been shown by the plaintiffs in this action.
It was also stated that there were no mechanisms set up to resolve all expansion project grievances through mitigation measures or continued community engagements.
"Until these grievances processes are strictly followed, the plaintiffs do not have any locus standi to bring an action under this agreement," the judge’s ruling asserts.
The plaintiffs led by the local group MAPO, sued the international mining conglomerate Koidu, five of its parent companies, and their Managing Directors referred to as the Octea Group, for human rights abuses, loss of land and livelihoods, improper relocation, and devastating harm to the community’s health and environment due to the company’s mining operations in 2019.
This is the second of two lawsuits the plaintiffs have filed against the Octea Group and its owners, BSG Resources (BSGR), which is controlled by the diamond magnate, Beny Steinmetz.
Koidu Ltd previously named Koidu Holdings controls one of the country’s most prolific concessions.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (28/10/22)
