Malete land board has just lost a case against Ba-Ga-Malete tribe regarding Forest Hill 9KO farm. Though they are not clear on whether the government is appealing the case or not, the words point that direction.
In a press statement recently, the land board pointed out;
“The Tribe made a unanimous resolution to hand over the remainder of Farm Forest Hill 9-KO to the Land Board and such decision was communicated to then Minister of Local Government ,who In turn moved to amend section 7 of the TribalTerritories Act to Include the Remainder of the said farm. Section 7 of the TribalTerritories Act, describing Bamalete Tribal Territory was duly amended in 1973 to include the Remainder of Farm Forrest Hill 9-KO.
Feedback of the said amendment was given to the Land Board and the Chief was Invited to go and show the Land Board the boundaries and the conditions of the farm.The Chief obliged and showed the Land Board the boundaries and conditions of the Farm on the 18″‘ March 1987.
From the above facts it very clear that there was no compulsory acquisition of the Farm by Government, Parliament nor Malete Land Board. The said farm was voluntarily handed over by the Tribe and Its representatives.The above facts were placed before the High Court, but the judgment of the High Court makes no mention of the same.”
The High Court ruled in favour of the tribe recently on a battle regarding the ownership of the said farm. The land board wanted the farm’s title deed to be nullified so they can have full control to the farm. The farm, which was acquired for investment purposes, was bought by the tribe by raising Three thousand pounds (£3000) in contributions back in 1925 to purchase it from Aaron Siew.
