The Sierra Leonean Court of Appeal today extended an interim injunction brought against the Koidu Limited Mining Company, a major mining company operating in Koidu City Tankoro Chiefdom, Kono District to next Monday July 28th, 2025. The injunction application, brought before the court by the Marginalized Affected Property Owners (MAPO) was first upheld last Thursday in Freetown.
The court’s order prohibits the company (Koidu/Octéa mining company limited) from selling, disposing of or in any way alienating any of its properties.
On Thursday 17th, July 2025, the court granted an interim injunction against Koidu Limited Mining Company, a major mining company operating in Koidu City Tankoro Chiefdom, Kono District.
This legal action was initiated following a request made by the lawyering firm C&J Partners, working with the Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD), with support from the Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA).
The injunction is a temporary measure, pending further legal proceedings. The court has scheduled a hearing for Monday 21st, July 2025, where both the complainants and the defendants will present oral or electronic arguments, each side allocated 20 minutes to state their case.
This case is expected to have broader implications for corporate accountability and community rights in Sierra Leone’s mining communities.
At today’s hearing, the motion was converted to inter partes. Counsel for the company pleaded that due to the other injunctions pending against the company, he would like the court and the applicants to be served with those papers in the form of an affidavit in opposition.
Counsel for the applicants are expected to file an affidavit in reply.
Brief background
Koidu Limited is a diamond mining company that operates in Sierra Leone and is privately owned by BSG Resources Limited (BSGR) through its subsidiary, Octéa Limited. The company is accused of degrading the living conditions of people living near its mining operations and failing to properly relocate them or compensate them for their losses.
Residents who have not been relocated find it increasingly difficult to farm because waste rock and rubble from Koidu Ltd.’s operations have covered much of their farmland. “Koidu Limited has destroyed our lives,” said Mr. Prince Boima, Chairman of the Marginalized Affected Property Owners Association. “We used to farm and live in peace, but now our lands and water sources are poisoned and covered in rubble. Our homes are shaken by explosives every day.”
Residents also report that their health has suffered. Dust from the mining operations often cover the community and causes headaches, difficulty breathing, and a burning sensation in the residents’ eyes. The operations have also contaminated the water, and many residents develop skin rashes and digestive problems they did not previously experience. High stress from living with frequent blasting further causes headaches, high blood pressure, heart palpitations, and respiratory problems in the community.
Despite promising to properly relocate affected community members in advance of expanding its mining operations, Koidu Ltd. has left the people to suffer. Many community members have neither been relocated, nor compensated for the damage to their properties, health, and livelihoods. Others have been relocated to a new area, but the conditions of relocation have been incommensurate with what they lost.
In all these, Koidu Limited had closed the mine, laid off all its workers, and was stripping valuable machinery from the site. The mine site is currently stripped of everything of value except for the power plant and is abandoned except for a token detachment of police officers who are keeping guard. This prompted the plaintiffs to freeze the company’s assets to ensure that there would be enough left to satisfy an eventual judgment in favor of their favour.
The community is supported in its fight for justice by Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA), a Ghana-based human rights organization, and Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD), a Sierra Leonean civil society organization that organizes communities for a more just society in the face of natural resource extraction.
Recent Comments