KASAFONI ON GUN POINT!
By Ibrahim Alusine Kamara (Kamalo)
The Kasafoni Iron Ore Deposit in Tonkolili North has become the centre of a fierce standoff between landowners and the central government, with angry chiefs and families accusing the state of land grabbing at gunpoint.
Under the Customary Land Rights Act and the Mines and Minerals Development Act 2022 (Section 33(3)(a)), only landowning families—represented by paramount chiefs—can legally lease provincial land for large-scale mining. Acting on this law, the chiefs of Dansogoia, Sambaia and Diang signed a lease with Gento Group of Companies, a 100% Sierra Leonean-owned firm. Gento quickly rolled out projects: road construction in Diang, a health centre in Sasakala, a water dam in Kasafoni, and women’s empowerment initiatives.
But shortly after, the Sierra Leone Mines and Minerals Development and Management Corporation (SLMMDMC) moved in, declaring exclusive control of the deposit under the 2024 Mining Regulations. Backed by Cabinet and Parliament, the government warned that no private company or traditional leader could lease or assign rights over the concession, insisting the ore “belongs to the Republic of Sierra Leone.”
“A Calculated Theft”
The chiefs and landowning families rejected the state’s claim, filing a petition in Parliament. They accused the government and SLMMDMC of illegally seizing ancestral land, branding the takeover a “calculated theft” that violates the 1991 Constitution, the Customary Land Rights Act 2022, and the Mines and Minerals Development Act 2022.
“The government cannot sit in Freetown and override our laws, our rights, and our blood-stained land inheritance,” the petitioners declared, demanding recognition of their lease with Gento and a full investigation into SLMMDMC’s actions.
Force and Intimidation
Tensions escalated on 21 August 2025, when a heavily armed government delegation, led by Finance Minister Ahmed Sheku Fantamadi Bangura, stormed Diang. Residents described their villages as a “battlefront” as ministers pressed chiefs to sign a new lease agreement in favour of SLMMDMC.
Massive protests broke out, with landowners carrying placards and chanting that they already had a valid agreement with Gento. Instead of engaging them, officials met privately with Paramount Chief Sheku Magba III and his council. Reports allege the chief and his councillors were pressured under threats of criminal charges, while some of their subjects remain jailed.
As one landowner put it: “The people of Kasafoni and its environs were literally placed under gunpoint to surrender their land.”
Defiance Remains
Although the delegation has since returned to Freetown, anger runs deep. Landowners insist the government is illegally bypassing the law to hand over Kasafoni to foreign interests, while sidelining a Sierra Leonean company that has already paid surface rent and delivered development projects.
For the people of Kasafoni, the struggle is not just about iron ore—it is about ancestral rights, dignity, and the fight against state-imposed dispossession.