By Foday Moriba Conteh
During a Press Conference held on the 4th August 2021 at the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists Hall on Campbell Street in Freetown the family members of one Baby Dora Boyle now (deceased) brought to the attention of the public an issue relating to a land that is located at No 8 Upper Savage Square in the East End of Freetown between family members of Baby Dora Boyle now (deceased) and Mariatu Bangura.
Since then this medium mounted an independent investigation into the said land saga by contacting parties involved in the said matter.
The sister of the late Baby Dora Boyle, Lydia Cole, said that the piece of land with already houses on it was sold without their consent which prompted them to take this matter to court. She said while Justice Babatunde Edwards was presiding over the matter, Mariatu Bangura, who is said to have brought the piece of land also took the same matter to Magistrate Court No 3 presided over by Magistrate Hannah Bonnie as Applicant Vs 7 Respondents which include Pa Yeremeh Sesay, Baby Dora Boyle, Peter M. Kamara, Dowu Peters, Yusuf Koroma, Sampa Koroma and Sento Bangura.
It was further learnt that on the 13th April and 18th July, 2015 Magistrate Hannah Bonnie gave rulings which are as follows:
Magistrate Hannah Bonnie in her rulings said that the said respondents herein Pa Yeremeh Sesay the 1st Respondent, the 4th respondent Dowu Peters, 5th respondent Yusuf Koroma, the 6 respondent Sampa Koroma, and the 7th respondent Sento Bandura hereby vacate the portion of the premises by each of them herein at 8 Upper Savage Square on the 31st May, 2015, adding that they must pay all arrears of rent, related bills and must vacate same in a tenantable condition.
She added that the applicant having failed to appear before her court to prove her case in respect of 2nd respondent, Baby Dora Boyle, the matter is hereby struck out for want of further prosecution.
Following that ruling, the 2nd respondent in the matter between Mariatu Bangura and the 7 respondent Baby Dora Boyle took the matter to Justice E K Cowan Jnr’s Magistrate Court and on the 20th November, 2015 Justice E K Cowan Jnr gave ruling on the said matter stating that upon listening to the applicant & respondent 6 in the action he ordered that respondent 6 gives up possession of the said property as agreed by both parties, stating that all other respondents should give immediate possession of the said property being they did not appear in court after notice of hearing was sent.
It must also be noted that Baby Dora Boyle took the said mater in the High Court of Sierra Leone as applicant against Ekudanyo Coker, Ernest Rowe and Cyrus Conteh as respondents of which on the 3rd October, 2014 Hon. Justice E.D Edwards said that he has read the original notice of motion dated 2nd February 2014 and the affidavit in support of the application sworn thereto and has heard from Musa Pious H. Sesay Esq, Counsel for the plaintiff/applicants.
He then gave an injunction restraining the respondents from selling, leasing or in any other way dealing with this property pending the conclusion/determination of the application.
The Sister of the late Baby Dora Boyle, Lydia Cole said that on the 10th July, 2021 a Bailiff, called Herro, swore to an affidavit and allegedly made a false statement that he served Baby Dora Boyle in June 2021; when in fact, Baby Dora Boyle died on the 8th May 2020. It was stated that he went to the said property and informed residents that they should quit the premises. However, she said she then told the Bailiff, called Herro that Hon. Justice E.D Edwards has put an injunction restraining the respondents from selling, leasing or in any other way deal with the property pending the conclusion/determination of the application.
She pointed out that upon resistance by family members of Baby Dora Boyle, who are currently occupying the premises, a troop of Police Officers attached at the Ross Road Police Station stormed the scene arrested and detained them at the Police Station furthering that while they were absent Police Officers break into their houses and removed their properties under the alleged command of Lawyer Elvis Kargbo Esq.
She continued that Baby Dora Boyle, now deceased, was an applicant against six defendants and got a favorable ruling by Magistrate Cowan (late) in 2015, adding that in February 2021, Magistrate Cowan’s hand written documents were allegedly recreated by Lawyer Elvis Kargbo Esq in a typed copy brining in a completely new individual, Mariatu Bangura making Baby Dora Boyle one of the defendants instead of the complainant, as it was, resulting into the eviction of poor orphans from the property and a demolition exercise is on course based on the court order as specified in the alleged falsified documents.
This new development or twist of the trends prompted the uncle of the late Baby Dora Boyle, Idris Turay, to write a letter of complaint bordering on alleged corrupt practices of court officials to the Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission, Francis Ben Kelfala.
As the Press Conference progresses the Lawyer for Baby Dora Boyle, Musa Pious H. Sesay Esq. said in 2015 Justice E K Cowan Jnr gave a ruling on the said matter of which her client, Baby Dora Boyle was the applicant and that Justice E K Cowan Jnr after hearing the applicant & respondent 6 ordered that respondent 6 gives up possession of the said property as agreed by both parties, stating that all other respondents should give immediate possession of the said property being they did not appear in court after notice of hearing was sent.
He maintained that he was informed by a family member of Baby Dora Boyle that a Bailiff, called Herro produced a Magistrate Court Order to evict them from the premises and that he believes that his clients have no matter at the Magistrate Court and that on his arrival at the place in the evening hours members of the Baby Dora Boyle family were behind bars of which he said he facilitated their release.
He added that on the following Monday he went to court before Magistrate Peter Gogra and requested for copies of the proceeding files. He also requested for the court ledger in which matters are recorded of which he went through the ledge specially for matters recorded on October 2015 and that he was able to learn that in the matter that came up before Justice E K Cowan Jnr her client Baby Dora Boyle was the applicant but said the new order presented her client Baby Dora Boyle as a respondent.
He stated that he went further to find out if there was any matter before Magistrate Justice E K Cowan Jnr in which Mariatu Bangura was an applicant but said his findings prove that the only applicant at that time in 2015 was her client Baby Dora Boyle of which he said that the court order that was taken to Magistrate Peter Gogra in order to evict family members of the late Baby Dora Boyle was allegedly forged.
In order to get the side of Lawyer Elvis Kargbo, who happens to be representing Mariatu Bangura this medium contacted him and granted this writer an interview at his office on Wilberforce Street in Freetown. He, however, denied the allegations.
He told our reporter that no lawyer has the right to falsify court orders because those orders are written by a Magistrate and then signed by the DAR or written by a Judge and then signed by the Registrar.
He said that her client, Mariatu Bangura, is a petty trader who has this land suited at 8th Upper Savage Square in the East End of Freetown further explaining that according to the conveyance the land initially belong to four people, Ekudanyo Coker, Joseph Joah, Lydia Samuels and Ebenezer Boyle, adding that these 4 individuals decided to sell the said property through James Momodu Fornah-Sesay Esq. as their lawyer of which her client Mariatu Bangura decided to buy the said property and then contacted him (Lawyer Elvis Kargbo) to purchase the property on her behalf. He said he then contacted lawyer James Momodu Fornah-Sesay Esq during which time they negotiated and agreed on the price.
This writer is in the possession of a signed consent agreement for the sale of the property to Mariatu Bangura dated 21st November, 2012 by the children of late Joseph Juah and the Children of late Lydia Samuels which was presented to this writer by Lawyer Elvis Kargbo.
He added that after the consent of sale her client, Mariatu Bangura, paid the sum of One Hundred and Ninety Million Leones (Le190, 000,000) to James Momodu Fornah-Sesay Esq. and her client was issued a receipt.
He maintained that after the completion of the payment for the property and that Ekudanyo Coker, being the only person alive, signed their conveyance they asked the court to remove the tenants including Baby Dora Boyle in 2015. Lawyer Elvis added that Magistrate Hannah Bonnie in her ruling said all other respondents should vacate the portion of the premises by the occupants excluding Baby Dora Boyle, noting that Baby Dora Boyle took the matter to Magistrate E K Cowan Jnr in a form of a motion and after Magistrate E K Cowan Jnr listened to the motion gave a ruling that all respondents should vacate the premise.
Lawyer Elvis Kargbo said that they have gone to the property twice in order to evict them as per the court order but that the youth within the community fought the Bailiff and the Police Officers, stating that after that development their lawyer (Musa Pious H. Sesay Esq.) went to the High Court of Sierra Leone of which Hon. Justice E.D Edwards on the 3rd October 2014 gave an injunction restraining the respondents from selling, leasing or in any other way deal with the property pending the conclusion/determination of the application but said in that judgment her client, Mariatu Bangura, was excluded.
He said that as the Counsel for Mariatu Bangura he filed to the High Court of Sierra Leone that Mariatu Bangura should be included as an interested Party/Applicant, adding that Justice AMY.J. Wright upon hearing the notice of motion dated 8th October 2019 made the following order: that an interim stay of all proceedings is hereby granted pending the hearing and determination of his application.
He said that he also ordered that the interested party/applicant Mariatu Bangura is hereby sued to the action as a party hereof to defend the action, stating that Justice AMY.J. Wright ordered that the court order dated 3rd October 2014 and all subsequent proceedings are hereby set aside.
Responding to the alleged forging of Magistrate E.K Cowan ruling, he said that after the order was given by Magistrate E.K Cowan in 2015 they went twice to the said property in order to evict the occupants but could not and after the ruling by Justice AMY.J. Wright he went to the Magistrate Court to ask for renewal of the court order that was given by Magistrate Cowan in 2015 in order to evict them from the said property which they are claiming that he forged.
This medium will continue to monitor the matter up to its logical conclusion.
