When Raising the Flag Stops the Harvest: The Human Cost of Land Disputes
Land conflicts remain one of the most persistent challenges facing traditional authorities across Sierra Leone. For generations, families in the provinces have relied on Local Courts to determine rights to use, inherit, and control land. As Justice Nicholas Colin Browne-Marke of the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone once noted, “before the 2011 Local Court Act came into effect, a significant number of cases before Local Courts involved disputes over title to land, commonly referred to as “bush disputes.”
Today, such cases remain widespread and often deeply complex. In Many chiefdoms, when tensions escalate over land, traditional authorities may mount a flag on the disputed property. Within customary practice, this act imposes a temporary ban on all activities on the land. Farming stops. Harvesting ceases. No one is permitted to enter, regardless of whether crops are already growing.
This was the reality in Mateati Community, Bakeh Loko Chiefdom, Port Loko District, where a dispute emerged between the Conteh and Koroma families. The Koroma family laid claim to land long cultivated by the Contehs, including crops already in the field. Concerned about rising tensions, the matter was brought before the Chairman of the Local Court, and both families were summoned to present their claims.
With emotions running high and neither side prepared to concede, the Chairman ordered that a flag be mounted on the land. The decision, though intended to prevent further confrontation, soon revealed its unintended consequences.
Among those most affected was a widow with 5 children who had recently planted food crops on the disputed land. As the legal process continued, her crops ripened, but she was forbidden from harvesting them. Wild animals began feeding freely on the fields. What should have sustained her family was slowly disappearing.
The impact extended beyond one household. In a community heavily dependent on subsistence farming, food insecurity began to rise. Malnutrition became a growing concern. Poverty, already visible, deepened under the weight of the ban. A measure designed to preserve order had inadvertently threatened livelihoods.
Faced with this humanitarian strain, the Conteh family approached DMSP to explore mediation. While mediating cases already before the court does not ordinarily fall within DMSP’s mandate, the urgency of the situation called for dialogue. Recognizing the stakes, DMSP engaged the Chairman of the Local Court and proposed a temporary compromise: allow community members, particularly the widow, to harvest the ripe crops while the ownership dispute remained under judicial consideration. The court agreed. The effect was immediate and profound. The harvest was saved. Tensions eased. The flag, once a symbol of restriction, became a turning point toward cooperation.
“We know that this process will definitely help us understand who owns the land and work together as one people,” one community member remarked, capturing a renewed spirit of unity.
Discussions are now underway regarding the possibility of out-of-court mediation, should the Local Court formally refer the matter. Meanwhile, rights groups in the district are closely observing developments.
In Mateati, the flag did more than mark a disputed boundary. It tested resilience, exposed vulnerability, and ultimately opened a path toward dialogue. And as hope slowly takes root again, the community stands as a reminder that even in the midst of conflict, solutions can grow.
