Land dispute between Community People and a Chinese mining company in Dalakuru Village in Diang Chiefdom, Koinadugu District in the northern province of Sierra Leone, has left many injured and displaced after makeshift structures housing locals were allegedly destroyed by security personnel sent to the town to evict locals from their land on Tuesday June 30, 2020.
Speaking to Premier News, Daniel Koroma, a resident of Dalakuru Village in Congbelefe Section, said that the riot broke out when security personnel and staff of an unidentified Chinese company came to evict local gold miners from their mining fields in the areas around the village.
He claimed that security personnel had told the artisanal miners that the lands in the village had been leased to an unidentified Chinese mining company, and that the locals had no business mining in that area.
He said that when they got the information, youth in the town mobilized themselves and we explained the matter to the Paramount Chief of Diang, Magba Koroma as well as the Town and Section Chiefs of Dalakuru village, but nothing much was done to settle the dispute.
Koroma explained that women and youths of the entire Dalakuru village depend on artisanal mining for their livelihood, and that they also dwell in the mining areas.
He said that they are not agrarians because the land in the chiefdom is not arable which is why they depend on mining rather than agriculture for their survival.
Koroma alleged that during the riot makeshift structures which had been erected by the local miners as well as other houses of residents in the village were burnt down, leaving some local people homeless, injured and displaced. “Many were force to go into the bush for their safety, all in the name of orders from above,” he lamented.
He said that the incident had sent many people helter-skelter with many women and children finding shelter elsewhere, knowing fully well that they had been displaced. “Some are school going children who have to go back to school as schools have reopened, but how will they now go to school when some of their property had been burnt down , and some don’t even have a place to stay,” he said.
He called on government and stakeholders to intervene in the matter and ensure that the situation is put to rest. He emphasized that the rights of the people of Dalakuru village should not be trampled upon.
The National Mineral Agency (NMA) has said that they are aware of the incident and have sent personnel to the village to investigate the matter and will keep the public informed on their findings in due course.
By Hasbin Shaw