Margibi: Another Disaster in Sight

Tension is building up in the Vartikeh Town district number-1 in Margibi county, between the Townsend family and the Gbamokollie family, for 600 hundreds acres of land, vastly occupied with Rubber crops.

A document in possession of the New Dawn reveals that the Townsend family leased the land in 1971 from the late chief Sumo Gbamokollie and later bought the land for the amount of 5,000 United States dollars.

The sale of the land became compulsory when the last chief Gbamokollie’s son, Varney Kamara, fell sick, thus plunging Gbamokollie in a dire need of money to treat his son. Gbamokollie descendants told reporters that their father leased the land to late Regional Townsend for 20 yrs “and the agreement has expired.”

Based on that accusation the Gbamokollie family wants to possess their property. The Gbamokollie family took the matter to the 13th judicial circuit court in Margibi County, during the august term of court before Judge Bima Koute.

Judge Madia Chenoweh who presided over the November term of court, placed an injunction, pending investigation. According to the investigation conducted by this paper, Judge Chenoweh who placed an injunction on said property, has allowed the Gbamokollie family to take possession of the land, after said family promised to give the judge 150 acres of land.

Of late, a pickup loaded with a processed rubber was taken from the disputed farm, by the Gbamokollie’s family. A second pickup loaded with unprocessed rubber from the same farm was taken away by the police, based on the order of the residence judge Madia Chenowoh.