In a landmark ruling on Wednesday September 30, 2026, Justice Santigie Bangura of the High Court of Sierra Leone sitting in Safadu, Koidu New Sembéhun City Kono District rejected eleventh-hour delay tactics by diamond mining company Koidu Limited, clearing the way for affected community members to proceed to trial after seven grueling years of litigation over the alleged destruction of homes, livelihoods and the environment caused by the company’s operations.
Background
The people of Gbense and Tankoro Chiefdoms in Kono District, in Sierra Leone’s Eastern Region, have been struggling with the impacts of Koidu Limited’s mining operations for decades. Homes have been damaged and lives were disrupted by blasts of dynamite as the company excavated its enormous open pit. Many families were never relocated despite their dangerous proximity to the mine, and those that were resettled were given substandard homes and were inadequately compensated for their destroyed trees and crops. The mine’s waste rocks covered farms and blocked waterways, degrading livelihoods and reducing many local women to breaking stones into gravel for sale by the roadside. “My home and livestock were swept away,” recalls Sia Janet Bayoh, a local resident. “Everyone in this community has suffered because of the mine, especially women.”
Under the banner of the Marginalised Affected Property Owners (MAPO), a local community-based organization, hundreds of community members filed suit against Koidu Ltd and its parent companies (which form the Octea Group) in 2019. The case was initially dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, but the affected people prevailed at the Court of Appeal last year in a precedent-setting judgment that established for the first time in Sierra Leone that occupants of customary lands can sue in the courts for infringements of their land rights. The plaintiffs were cleared to move forward in the District Court of Kono.
Members of the Marginalised Affected Property Owners (MAPO) with their lawyers after the court ruling on Wednesday
Clearing the Obstacles
The Court of Appeal ruling should have meant the case against Koidu Ltd would go to trial, and the plaintiffs’ claims of suffering would finally be heard. The mining company, however, raised additional, last-minute objections that could have derailed the case. Most importantly, they asked the court to strike out the parent companies from the lawsuit. This could have rendered the entire case futile, as Koidu Ltd suspended operations more than a year ago, and it may be little more than an empty shell by the time the case concludes.
In court, the plaintiffs argued that a judge had already ruled that the parent companies were present in Sierra Leone and could be drawn into the case. Their position was strengthened by documents retrieved from a U.S. bankruptcy case through a Foreign Legal Assistance petition in the courts of New York, which proved that the parent companies were directly involved in the day-to-day management of the mine’s social and environmental impacts and of Koidu Ltd’s financial affairs. “In light of the evidence, all the Octea Group companies bear joint responsibility for the plaintiffs’ suffering,” explained Benedict Jalloh, lead counsel for the community members. “This means that Sierra Leone’s courts can legitimately judge them, wherever in the world they are based.”
Community Celebrates and Prepares for Trial
In today’s order, Justice Bangura refused the companies’ applications and ordered them to pay USD 30,000 in costs. While the reasoning for the order was not given and will be provided at a later date, this is an unusually high amount that would typically only be awarded as a sanction for filing frivolous motions – in other words, for wasting the court’s time. “MAPO has stood firm through seven years of Octea’s delay and intimidation tactics, but now we see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Prince Tamba Boima, the Chairman of MAPO. “We are celebrating today’s win and looking forward to having our day in court.”
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