UMC Mission in land battle – one dead after police shooting
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is reported to be involved in an intense land dispute with indigenes of Masantigie, Masorie and Mathankay villages in constituency 102 in the Western Rural District of Waterloo.
The said land dispute which erupted since February 2014 has reportedly left 33 years old Alusine Kargbo dead during Police shoot out at Masantigie village.
According to the Headman of Masantigie, Brima Conteh, the deceased was constructing a mud-brick house on that fateful day when one Reverend Eddie Mammy, accompanied by armed police officers, arrived to do some construction work on the land.
Inspector Marrah attached at the Waterloo Police Division further explained that the construction work carried out by Reverend Mammy on the disputed land caused the mobilization of a mob of youths and in the process of dispersing them, Alusine Kargbo sustained injuries that resulted in his death at the Emergency Hospital to where he was referred on the instruction of the Local Unit Commander, Supt. Kargbo. Inspector Marrah furthered that they were professionally obligated to disperse the mob of youths because of their professed intention to burn down the UMC church at Masantigie.
Sources from Masantigie Vi;;age stated that the sad situation was reported to the Chief Whip of Parliament, Hon. Claued Kamanda of Constituency 95 who was said to have immediately gone to the scene and snapped the disputed land the shells of the bullets fired by the police while trying to disperse the mob.
According to the MP, he took the dissatisfied people of Masantigie to the Local Unit Commander of Waterloo Police Division, Superintendent Kamara, and later to Assistant Inspector-General, AIG Memuna Conteh at Ross Road and explained the matter to her and she immediately sent police officers to investigate on the matter.
This press reliably gathered that after AIG Memuna Conteh had interrogated all parties involved in the matter, she went along with police officers to the village and gave the bereaved family of the deceased Alusine Kargbo the sum of one million Leones and a bag of rice to appease them and called on them to keep the peace until the matter was investigated and the culprit brought to book.
Contacted, Rev. Eddie Mammie told this medium that the mission never grabbed any land but acquired it legally with authentic documents.
By Abdulai Mento Kamara
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