By Septimus Senessie in Kono
Member of Parliament for Constituency 45 in Neya chiefdom in the Northern District of Koinadugu, has called on government to “act now” to settle a long-running border dispute between Baburu village in Neya chiefdom and Fannehma village in Sandor chiefdom. Lahai Marrah, MP, said that the dispute between the 2 villages over a piece of land dated back over 100 years and the conflict had caused the loss of many lives and property on both sides. He cited the 2012 conflict between the 2 villages leading to the destruction of houses, plantations and domestic animals. Even though the MP commended the effort of the Office of the National Security (ONS) for their “timely intervention in quelling down the 2012 conflict”, he stressed that more effort was needed to finally end the dispute. He described the border problem as “sensitive” saying that the conflict was between two chiefdoms which if not controlled could lead to tribal conflict between Konos and Korankors. He alleged that a few months ago, police from the side of Kono went to one of the Korankor villages called Baburor to intimidate, humiliate and arrest people “for no good reason”, describing it as “wrong and a complete violation of the fundamental rights of the people”. The Paramount Chief of Neya chiefdom, Fassallie Marrah II also joined the parliamentarian in pleading for the settlement of the border dispute “to avoid conflict”.
