Julius Maada Bio, the illegal Sierra Leone President is quite aware of these forceful evictions and occupations of homes built by hardworking citizens who have spent sleepless nights over the years to erect their houses for the comfort of themselves and their loved ones. However, today, countless citizens are homeless and hopeless and are in total fear for their lives and safety because of the brutality shown by SLPP Kamajors in police and military uniforms. (Photo: Mr Kholifa, right, exiled in London with Abu Shaw, left).

It is apparent that the growing despair among the unlawfully evicted Sierra Leoneans has started since April 4, 2018 when the SLPP/Paopa vandals led by Julius Maada Bio’s failed SLPP regime took power from the former President Ernest Bai Koroma of the APC government. Worryingly, the targeted occupation of premises and the forceful evictions of owners from their own edifices in Sierra Leone have always affected the citizens who hail from the north and northwest of the country.

Why is this inhuman crime happening continuously under the Bio presidency? This ethnic cleansing ideology by Maada Bio’s agenda has become the hallmark of the Paopa regime. The only crime committed by these victims, including the latest victim Mr Alpha Kholifa Koroma, is being a member of the main opposition APC party as well as hailing from the north and northwest of the country, the strongholds of the APC party. And the SLPP Kamajors in police and military uniforms who are executing these wicked acts are all from the southeast of Sierra Leone, the strongholds of Bio’s SLPP/Paopas.

Mr Alpha Kholifa, the former Sierra Leone Chief Immigration Officer during the last progressive APC Government of Ernest Koroma, is a qualified lawyer who has worked hard in Britain and in Sierra Leone all his life to achieve his good fortunes. But after 2018, when the Bio barbarians took State House every sector of the country went downhill leaving the majority of suffering Sierra Leoneans in abject poverty and the well-to-do living in fear either at home or forced into exile. Mr Kholifa, one of those targeted by Maada Bio’s corrupt officials, was forced to flee abroad into safety in England.

As if that personal onslaught against Mr Kholifa was not enough, the Maada Bio’s SLPP thugs, with orders from above, went on three weeks ago to unlawfully seize Mr Kholifa’s large imposing building at Imatt in Freetown. And it is still under unlawful occupation by the SLPP thugs who call themselves National Asset and Government Property Commission. Speaking to me last night, the distraught but hopeful Mr Kholifa said he could not understand why the SLPP regime could storm his bona fide house and evict his family from his property. (Photo: Mr Kholifa).

Incensed by the unfairness meted out to him, Mr Kholifa added that his lawyers Tejan-Cole, Yillah & Partners he solicited to fight his case are doing everything possible to get rid of the illegal Paopa occupiers so that his family members who are presently homeless and in despair could return to the house which he built with his own sweat years ago. “Despite the intervention of my lawyers – they are doing a good job of course – my house is still occupied by the squatters,” Mr Kholifa disclosed.

Keen observers believe jealousy and bad heart coupled with tribalism and regionalism are the motivating factors driving these bad Sierra Leoneans to upset and reverse the fortunes of good people in Sierra Leone. Mr Kholifa is not the first citizen to suffer such blatant misuse of power and unfairness. The seizing of properties have become the norm under Maada Bio. Popular businessman and humanitarian Mr Abubakarr Konteh aka DJ Boxx, who was last month kidnapped in Guinea, also had his massive house seized and demolished for no justifiable reason.

“Hopefully, Mr Kholifa’s mansion would not face such a fate. God will protect his house. Amen,” keen observers prayed. Meanwhile, Mr Alpha Kholifa, a man who believes in the grace of God, is hoping and praying that these bad Sierra Leoneans would soon leave his mansion alone so that his struggling family members would have a roof over their heads as soon as possible. With optimism hovering around the Tripartite Investigations Committee and with the imminent recommendations likely to favour the people 100%, there is light at the end of the tunnel for every citizen.

Mr Alpha Kholifa Koroma Hires Tejan-Cole, Yillah & Partners Law Firm

Tejan-Cole, Yillah & Partners in Freetown were solicited by Mr Alpha Kholifa Koroma to provide legal assistance and to fight his case. Dated 28^th March, 2024, the defence lawyers wrote the Chairman of National Asset and Government Property Commission, Wesley Street Freetown entitled ‘Re: The Illegal Seizure of the Private Property of Mr Alpha Kholifa Koroma Esq Situated at Hill Station South Ridge, Off Leicester Road, Freetown’.

Excerpts from the Letter verbatim: “We have been consulted and our services retained by our colleague, Alpha Kholifa Koroma Esq on whose instructions we write to you regarding the above subject mentioned subject matter. Our instructions are that over the past three weeks, officials accompanied by policemen and armed personnel from the Special Security Division (SSD) have attended our client’s residence at Hill Station aforesaid threatening our client’s relatives to vacate our client’s property on the ground that our client’s property was now property of the National Asset and Government Property Commission. (Photo: Maada Bio and his Justice Minister Mohamed Lamine Tarawallie).

“Our client’s relatives who were residing at our client’s private property aforementioned demanded legal papers from staff and police personnel accompanying your staff as to how our client’s private property would transform to government property without following due process namely;

• The issuance of a confiscation order by a court of competent jurisdiction in Sierra Leone,
• A commission of inquiry pursuant to the laws of Sierra Leone; or
• Following the due process established under the Public Lands Ordinance stipulating the procedure by which government or government authority may acquire private property in Sierra Leone.

“Our further instructions are that despite the demands for lawful legal authority from our client’s relatives, your personnel together with armed policemen accompanying them failed to produce any lawful court or gazetted instrument pursuant to the Public Lands Ordinance and instead threatened the use of force should his relatives not move out of his private residence as has been requested by your personnel. We are also informed that on Monday the 25^th day of March 2024, your personnel and armed policemen actually made good on their threat of the use of force by actually attacking our client’s relatives and chasing them out of our client’s property and in the process stole and destroyed a huge number of our client’s personal properties contained in the house.

“As at the date of writing this letter, our client’s property has been sealed by personnel from your office and armed policemen have been deployed with a notice posted on our client’s property that the said property is now the property of the National Asset and Government Property Commission. In the circumstances, our instructions are to request your immediate withdrawal for our client’s property as referred to above or in any case by no later than 72 hours of receipt of this letter otherwise, our client will bring proceedings against your Commission under the State Proceedings Act 2000 for your unlawful seizure of our client’s property.

“By copy of this letter, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone, the Office of the Ombudsman, and the Office of the President are informed of your commission’s illegal conduct. In addition to instituting action in the High Court our client reserves the right to bring proceedings at the Supreme Court in its original jurisdiction to protect his right to equal treatment under the law, the protection of his rights to his private property as a citizen of Sierra Leone. We trust your Commission will not make litigation necessary and will take the necessary steps to avert same. You have been warned!!!,” the letter ends.