By: Andrew Chokpeleh
Francis Lamin Kanu from Romende Chiefdom in Karene District has raised concerns about the failure of the companies that took over African Minerals—Shandong Steel, which is China Civil Construction Company to fulfill their corporate social responsibility to his community, despite a court ruling in their favour since 2016 which the companies have allegedly refused to honour.
According to Kanu, under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with China Civil Construction Company, the company was to construct a school and a market for the community as part of its corporate social responsibility. He said this obligation was also upheld by a court ruling. He further stated that the current Chief Justice, Justice Kamanda, reopened the case which had already been ruled on by Justice Koroma. Kanu added that the amount the company is required to pay the community is eight hundred and ninety million leones.
He explained that the mining operations have seriously affected farming activities in the community, as the railway line was constructed through areas previously used for cultivation. He said the court had granted the community permission to auction some of the companies’ trucks to raise funds to implement the community projects, but the companies allegedly used police officers to forcibly seize the trucks that had been awarded to the community. He further claimed that both he and his lawyer were later arrested and detained for ten days after the incident.
Kanu said the community is in urgent need of the school and market, as residents are suffering from lack of access to these basic amenities. He stressed that these are not favours being requested but obligations clearly stated in the MoU signed with the company. He added that out of the three people who originally took the company to court on behalf of the community, he is now the only one still alive, as the other two plaintiffs died during the course of the case.
He further stated that when the case recently came up again, the community wrote to the current Chief Justice to express their objection to some of the judges assigned to the matter, but their concerns were not addressed. He alleged that the court appears determined to proceed with the case without considering the issues raised by the community. He said they do not want those judges to sit on the panel because they are dissatisfied with their past handling of the case and no longer trust them to deliver a fair judgment.
Kanu said he is seeking justice and he is appealing to the Chief Justice to consider the community’s concerns and remove the judges currently assigned to the panel, stating his firm belief that they will not deliver impartial justice in the matter.
