Hundreds of landowning families and residents in the Magbafth Section in Yoni Mabanta Chiefdom, in the Northern District of Tonkolili, came out on Friday, 21st March 2025, to protest against a proposed mining on their lands.
According to residents, Ojaskara SL Ltd is proposing large-scale Bauxite Mining in several villages around the Magbafth Section, but the land owners insisted they are not interested in the said mining because of the dangers it will pose to their lives and the environment.
“We’re farmers, and we’re not interested in mining, we want support to invest in small scale farming to address food security in our section” residents said.
Residents who are mostly from land-owning families were seen holding placards with inscriptions “Our land, our rights, we’re not interested in mining, we are interested in agriculture”.
The aggrieved landowners said they would resist any attempt by the authorities to go on with the said mining because they considered the mining operations a destruction of their lands and a threat to the environment and community’s growth.
Other investigations conducted by this writer suggested that certain players especially those in position of trust are pushing for the mining operations to begin soon even when the landowners are voicing anger and highlighting its threats to current and future generations.
While the authorities remain reluctant and forcefully pushing against the wish, the landowners are also threatening that they will become defiant and challenge the company not to risk doing any form of mining on their lands.
The owners of the lands and residents said there would be significant consequences if Ojascara SL Ltd forcefully and illegally entered their lands.
“Though we’re poor, nobody will just wake up one night and illegally enter our lands without our consent. These are our lands, and they’re for farming, not for mining,” a town head man said.
Speaking on behalf of land-owning families, Moses M. Fullah said ,residents and land owners from the affected villages are making their position known to everyone especially the Ministry of Mines, National Mineral Agency(NMA),Environmental Protection Agency(EPA),that they are not interested in whatever mining on their lands and warned authorities to listen to their pleas.
Fullah said his people in Sumbuya village and the other affected communities are joining the land owners in the Chiefdom to protest against the proposed bauxite mining.
Agriculture, he said, is what they’re interested in as a community. He called on authorities especially national Mineral Agency(NMA),Ministry of Mines, Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) not to issue mining licences to the company for whatever form of mining in the aforementioned villages.
During the protest, landowners, including women and youths from the affected villages of Magbafth, Makombo, Mathombo, Sumbuya, and others, expressed dissatisfaction over what they called flagrant disregard for their human rights and dignity.
The community is accusing local authorities of forcefully going into an illegal agreement with the Ojaskara Company for the said mining. The landowners said they have not and will never agree for mining operations to be carried out on their lands because they are aware of the dangers coming in their respective communities,and the Mines and Mineral Development Act ,2022,is porous and not pro poor.
When contacted, the Section Chief of Magbafth Section said he’s behind whatever decision his people take. Ibrahim Bangura said he is representing his people and won’t do anything contrary that might expose their lives to danger.
This is a developing story, and this medium will continue to update the public.
