WAR OVER LITHIUM DEPOSITS IN BOMBALI
By Yusufu Abu Sesay
The recent discovery of vast lithium deposits in Ngowahum Chiefdom, Bombali District, has rekindled a bitter, century-old land dispute between the people of Rogbalan and their neighbors in Tambiama and Mayima. What had long been considered a closed chapter in the courts is now threatening to explode into deadly chaos, as greed for the “white gold” fuels old rivalries and fresh violence.
According to Rogbalan elders, their claim to the disputed land stretches back generations. Oral tradition tells of their ancestor, Sheriff Mahmud, a talisman of great spiritual repute, who was invited by Chief Kandeh Saio I of Tambiama and Mayima to help repel enemies through mystical means. In gratitude, the Chief granted Sheriff Mahmud and his descendants a portion of land to settle on. For decades, Rogbalan families farmed and lived in peace on that soil—until lithium was found beneath it.
Court records, locals insist, have repeatedly affirmed Rogbalan’s ownership. Yet, with the mineral now drawing interest from powerful investors, villagers accuse local elites—among them Abdul Jalloh, Court Chairman Alimamy Koroma, and Chiefdom Speaker Komrabai Kanu—of orchestrating efforts to dispossess them and hand over the resource-rich land to rival claimants.
The simmering tension boiled over on December 23, 2023, when armed men allegedly from Tambiama and Mayima launched a raid on Rogbalan. Homes were set ablaze, families fled into the bush, and several people were injured. One youth, Mohamed Sheriff, was shot in the head and narrowly survived, becoming a living symbol of the high stakes in the unfolding battle over lithium.
“The bloodshed is just beginning,” warns youth leader Mohamed Sheriff. “Unless government intervenes decisively, violence may become the only language left in this struggle.”
Lithium, now dubbed the “new oil” of the global green economy, is attracting intense international interest. But in Sierra Leone, where mining has historically brought more sorrow than prosperity, the discovery in Bombali is already breeding division, violence, and allegations of corruption. Critics fear that without urgent state intervention, the struggle for ownership could spiral into a full-scale tribal and political conflict.
Residents of Rogbalan are pleading with President Bio’s government to enforce court rulings, protect lives and property, and ensure that any mining benefits all communities fairly. Civil society groups are also calling for transparency, warning that the dispute, if mishandled, could destabilize Bombali and undermine trust in government authority.
For now, the battle lines remain drawn. To Rogbalan, the land is theirs by ancestry and by law. To Tambiama and Mayima, it is a heritage to reclaim. But beneath the ancestral claims lies a more modern truth: the lure of lithium has turned neighbor against neighbor, and unless peace is imposed, Bombali could soon descend into a war over “white gold.”