Land for Life Secures Landmark Collaboration with Paramount Chiefs to Tackle Land Conflicts
With support from UNFAO and Welthungerhilfe, Land for Life has spent the past weeks in December engaging with Paramount Chiefs from four of its operational districts—Port Loko, Tonkolili, Kenema, and Pujehun. These engagements provided strong regional representation, reflecting the cultural and traditional diversity of both the south-east and north-west regions.
The meetings aimed to strengthen collaboration between the Paramount Chiefs, the District Multi-Stakeholder Platforms (DMSPs), and other key actors involved in land governance and food security advocacy. They also served as an important opportunity to sensitise traditional authorities on the Customary Land Rights Act and the National Land Commission Act of 2022.
A key topic of discussion was the rising concern over land conflicts and the role of traditional authorities in resolving them. Some Paramount Chiefs,particularly those from chiefdoms bordering the Western Area, expressed frustration over what they described as encroachment by central government institutions on lands historically belonging to their chiefdoms. The Paramount Chief of Koya Chiefdom, Chief Bomboli III, noted that he has engaged the Ministry of Lands on the matter and that discussions are ongoing.
In Tonkolili District, all Paramount Chiefs expressed a strong commitment to working closely with the DMSP to ensure “sanity in land arrangements” within the district. They also proposed formal entry protocols for DMSP members involved in conflict resolution, stressing that adequate support from all stakeholders would be essential for the success of these efforts.
Responding to concerns raised across the districts, the Commissioner General of the National Land Commission, Abubakarr Sapay-Musa, congratulated the newly elected Paramount Chiefs and reaffirmed the Commission’s dedication to collaborating with them to address land challenges nationwide. He highlighted that although the Commission is only two years old, it has been working diligently to stabilise and strengthen land governance systems. On boundary disputes, he noted that a Grievance Redress Team has been established to look into such matters. He further announced that the process of establishing chiefdom and village land committees is already underway in several districts, with a long-term goal of ensuring that every community in Sierra Leone has an operational land committee.
The National Coordinator for Land for Life, Berns Komba Lebbie, formally presented the DMSPs to the Paramount Chiefs and reaffirmed the long-standing collaboration between them. He explained that since 2021, DMSPs across the districts have played a critical role in resolving land disputes in towns and villages. In some districts, the Chairperson of the Council of Paramount Chiefs also serves as a DMSP member. Berns emphasised that DMSPs bring together representatives from government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), civil society organisations, Paramount Chiefs, and respected community figures. He encouraged stronger collaboration with traditional authorities to ensure that land is governed responsibly and used for its intended purposes.
Representing UNFAO, Joel Kamara highlighted the organisation’s long-standing support to Sierra Leone since the civil war, particularly in promoting food security and strengthening community structures. He noted that UNFAO is currently supporting the work of the DMSPs and reaffirmed its commitment to helping strengthen these platforms so they can effectively deliver on their mandate.
The Chairman of the Committee on Land, PC Kumba Killie, underscored the importance of collaboration. He reminded his fellow Paramount Chiefs of the critical role they played—alongside the Ministry of Lands, civil society, and other partners—in ensuring the passage of the Customary Land Rights Act in Parliament. He encouraged his peers to engage their subjects on land governance issues and to collaborate with other organisations so that the message of unity and cooperation reaches every chiefdom across Sierra Leone.