The High Court of Sierra Leone in Freetown heard testimony on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, in a civil case over an alleged land deal worth US$8,000.
Dr. Richard Konteh, the defendant in the case, told the court his version of events in a dispute with Marie Sesay, a Sierra Leonean woman living in the United States.
The case centres on a piece of land at Mamah Street, Gloucester, Western Freetown. Ms. Sesay claims she paid Dr. Konteh US$8,000 for four town plots of land and later an additional US$2,000 for fencing. She wants the land returned and her money refunded.
Dr. Konteh told Judge [Name not in report] that he agreed to help Ms. Sesay purchase land when she asked him in 2009 while she was in the United States. He said she asked him to buy two plots, not four, and that the US$8,000 was for the purchase of those two plots, including conveyancing and fencing costs.
According to Konteh, he sent his bank details to Ms. Sesay and she made the payment. He later had the land surveyed, prepared the conveyance documents in October 2010, and sent them to her through her representative. Ms. Sesay later confirmed receiving the documents, he told the court.
In cross-examination, Ms. Sesay’s lawyer, Augustine Sengu Marrah, challenged parts of Konteh’s testimony, saying some claims were not backed by the evidence served to the defence. The court allowed further questioning on this point.
Dr. Konteh also said he had owned a four-plot parcel and originally planned to build student hostels there. He claimed he refused to sell all four plots to Ms. Sesay after she sent someone to inspect the land. The defendant denied showing the land to one of Ms. Sesay’s representatives.
The defendant further alleged that a person named Florence Turay reported him to the police over the land, leading to investigations at Lumley Police Station and the Land Grabbing Unit at CID headquarters. He said family members then asked him to transfer two plots to Ms. Sesay, but she eventually rejected an offer of alternate land.
The hearing was adjourned to February 17, 2026 to allow both legal teams to address issues raised during Konteh’s testimony
