Feb 17, 2026
In Freetown (Sierra Leone), a project funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the government of India — supposedly aimed at empowering persons with disabilities — has led to a series of appalling human rights violations, including the death of a two-day old baby, illegal land-grabbing, physical attacks, and criminalization of local activists.
In the latest attack, on the morning of February 14, the police turned up at a compound in the Kuntorloh community in the eastern side of Freetown, owned by the civil society organization Lifeline Nehemiah Projects (LNP). In this compound, LNP runs several community activities with a focus on youth, women, and people with disabilities.
Without prior warning, police officers demolished the workshop of a local carpenter and attempted to demolish another building owned by LNP, in retaliation for the community’s resistance to illegal construction carried out as part of the UNDP-funded project.
When LNP’s Finance Director, Mohamed Turay, was alerted by the carpenter and went to check on the situation, he was arrested without charges. As of February 17, Mohamed is still detained at Kissy Police Division and he has been denied bail.
This is just the latest in a long series of attacks that are taking place with total impunity, as there are powerful interests at stake. The project is being pushed — at all costs — by the Ministry of Social Welfare Melrose Karminty, with strong support from the UNDP Sierra Leone Resident Representative.
“This case is a stark warning of what happens when repeated alarm bells are ignored. UNDP was informed months ago that one of its projects was being implemented on disputed land – legally owned and occupied by LNP – and that police were violently attacking and arresting those resisting land-grabbing. It is unacceptable that the project is still ongoing and that the community, facing renewed attacks, is living in fear. UNDP should immediately suspend any support for the project, ensure the land is returned to LNP, and only re-start activities in land where government ownership is clearly established and free of dispute. Further, they should call on the Sierra Leone authorities to immediately cease attacks and criminalization of LNP staff and supporters, and urge the project implementers to leave LNP’s land.”
(Mark Fodor, coordinator of the Defenders in Development campaign at the Coalition for Human Rights in Development).
How a UNDP project enabled a case of land-grabbing
In September 2025, the Minister for Social Welfare began taking over a piece of land — duly registered as freehold land by LNP — to build houses for persons with disabilities, as part of the $990,000 initiative “Enabling Economic Independence for the Specially Abled Person”.
Behind the inclusive language and the commitments on paper, however, lies a twisted story of abuse of power and violence.
Not only have the Ministry and UNDP completely failed to conduct the basic due diligence and social assessments required for projects of this nature, but they are also proceeding with the construction of houses that do not meet adequate accessibility standards. Furthermore, they have disregarded the concerns raised by LNP regarding its legitimate ownership of the land.
Lifeline Nehemiah Projects is a civil society organization established in the mid-1990s. At that time, it was the Ministry of Social Welfare itself who provided LNP with a lease for the land. The organization was initially set up to rescue and rehabilitate child soldiers and children traumatised by war, and since then it has supported hundreds of people.
Today, the land is used as a football field for 31 schools and several community-based organizations. It serves as a place where children — and the wider community — can play, access education, learn new skills, and build a better future.
In 2020, LNP regularized its documentation, secured freehold title from the Ministry of Lands and registered its land. Since then, several parties have continued to claim ownership but have been unable to substantiate those claims. This matter is currently before the High Court and an interim injunction has been placed on the land.
Yet, despite the regular documentation and the court case, in late September workers started delivering sand and stones to the area. Shortly after, the situation escalated.
Police violence, criminalization and threats
On October 4, 2025, the police carried out an unprovoked attack on the community. Officers fired tear gas into a crowded hall where a parents and teachers meeting was taking place. Then, they moved into the compound. The family of a two-day old baby pleaded for the police to refrain, for the sake of their newborn who was struggling to breathe, but to no avail. The baby choked to death, as a result of the tear gas. The father — who is also a person with a disability — submitted a statement to the police, but the case was not investigated and the police refused to accept responsibility.
On the same day, the police also arrested several people and stole some items from LNP’s IT room. Four people, beneficiaries of LNP’s projects, were arrested. Two of them were also beaten with metal chains, with one of them requiring medical attention due to torture and rough treatment. The four youth were charged with ‘riotous behaviour’ and taken to court but all their cases were then dismissed by the court, as the police failed to show up, let alone provide evidence.
The police also approached the house of LNP Director Prince Tommy Williams. When his wife Mary Williams arrived there, she pleaded with the police to stop firing tear gas because she had a 10-month-old son who could be hurt by the gas. At around 1 p.m., the police arrested her and then released her on bail only the following afternoon. During this time, she had to breastfeed her baby behind bars.
For a few weeks, the attacks stopped but the threats and the illegal constructions works continued. Then, on December 15, Prince was arrested and charged with riotous conduct, disorderly behaviour, incitement, and throwing of stones and — in a separate case filed at the request of the Ministry for Social Welfare — cyber-bullying. During his detention, Prince was denied basic rights and could not speak to his wife and children. On December 18, he was released on bail.
A climate of impunity
Since the project was announced in September, LNP has been trying to peacefully claim the ownership of their land and defend the community’s rights, engaging both the Ministry and the UNDP Resident Representative. They have also engaged the relevant national institutions (including the Minister of Internal Affairs, the President’s office, the Police Inspector General and Complaints Board, and the Ombudsman). All these attempts, however, have fallen on deaf ears.
In December, LNP also filed a formal complaint with UNDP’s accountability mechanism, SECU. The complaint, which has been found eligible, was filed and registered on SECU’s Case Registry, and SECU is now closely monitoring the situation.
However, so far those responsible for violations have been escaping accountability and both the Ministry for Social Welfare and UNDP Resident Representative have not engaged meaningfully and constructively with LNP. Instead, they have been threatening and trying to delegitimize LNP.
We have been working with LNP since 1990, and we have witnessed first-hand how the organization has responded to the evolving needs of Sierra Leone over the years. Today, in Kuntorloh alone, LNP provides services that empower 1,025 people every day. We are shocked and outraged by these vicious attacks — all carried out under the pretext of advancing a socially inclusive project for people with disabilities. We stand in solidarity with our partners and friends at LNP. We call on all institutions involved — including UNDP, Sierra Leone’s authorities, and the police — to take immediate action to stop the criminalization of LNP members, release Mohamed, and suspend the project.
(Jamie Singleton, LifeLine Network International)
So far, no one has been held to account. There has been no justice for the 2-day-old baby who was killed. The land forcibly grabbed from LNP has not been returned and the illegal construction continues. Despite instructions from the Office of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone directing the Inspector General of Police to conduct an investigation, there has so far been no evidence that this has taken place. The police, the Ministry for Social Welfare, and the UNDP Sierra Leone representative all remain in post, while LNP and the wider community continue to live in fear.
For media enquires
Lorena Cotza (Coalition for Human Rights in Development – Comms lead): lcotza@rightsindevelopment.org | +39 3285761056
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