Makeni City, Bombali District, North Province, 04/08/2021. – The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Amb. Tamba Lamina, has in collaboration with other stakeholders held a meeting in Makeni to devise and agree on temporal strategies that would maintain peace in both Kalia Chiefdom in Tonkolili District and Fulla Wusu Chiefdom in Koinadugu District following their boundary dispute.

It could be recalled that on the 12th of July, 2021, both traditional and social media were suffocated with horrible videos following a group of unknown armed civilians that attacked and burned down Tonkoli village in Kalia Chiefdom.

As a Ministry that is charged with the constitutional mandate to supervise Chiefdom Authorities, the Minister of Local Government led a high-level delegation of state actors including the Minister of Internal Affairs, Deputy Director of the Office of National Security, North-East Regional Commander of Police, Republic of Sierra Leone Arm Forces Brigade Commander North-East to devise strategies that would maintain peace in the said Chiefdoms.

In his address, Minister Lamina, who also served as Chairman of the event, was quick to condemn the act in its entirety and urged the two parties to take all the recommendations that the team put in place and wait for the outcome of the ongoing investigation. He reiterated the importance of a peaceful community and denounced any form of violence within the Chiefdoms.

Following three hours deliberation on the causes of the conflicts and statements from various stakeholders, the following outlined resolutions were reached at:

👉That the two Paramount Chiefs must commit themselves to upholding peace in the chiefdoms.

👉That police presence should be maintained in Tonkoli community moving forward.

👉That all chiefs, who were illegally installed within the conflict period, should stop acting in such capacity and recognize the legally elected chiefs with the immediate effect

👉That an immediate disaster relief control be sought for the affected community

👉 That the general public should reframe from the use of social media outlets to fan tribalism within the Chiefdoms

👉That the Ministry of Local Government aptly works with the Ministry of Finance to address the issue of boundary disputes in the country leading to conflicts.

👉That the perpetrators be brought to book

👉That Pro-Sec continue with the engagement between the two chiefdoms

👉That the Ministry of Local Government Fast track the investigation process

👉That all mining and timber logging activities within the Tokoli reserved forest to be immediately suspended until the conflict is entirely resolved.

Other stakeholders present were: the two LUCs of Koinadugu and Tonkolili Districts, Paramount Chiefs, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government, the media and others.

The engagement ended after the two parties committed themselves to working with the agreed resolutions to restore and maintain peace in their Chiefdoms.