The Dodo Hydro electricity dam is generating electricity power to Kenema city in the east and Bo city in the south of the country. This has been going on for ages. However the bone of contention has been to decide whose land the dam is built. Before the war Boajibu and some villages in the Simbaru chiefdom, Dodo town and some villages in the Dodo chiefdom and Panguma town in the Lower Bambara chiefdom were benefiting from the electricity supply. But these facilities were damaged as a result of the war that over ran the entire eastern region. The long-standing dispute recently surfaced when youths of Simbaru chiefdom invaded village of Dodo chiefdom and destroyed some plantations, which reports ended at the police station at Tongo division.
Awoko press has been monitoring the event and recently got hold in Kenema city of the owner of the plantations that was destroyed in Dodo chiefdom by the youths of Simbaru chiefdom in Kenema city pa Siaka Jusu.
Pa Siaka Jusu explained that he is presently staying at Teiyama village in the Dodo chiefdom, and that he created a village called Jagbema over twenty (20) years before the war and was and still the chief of Jagbema village in the Dodo chiefdom.
He said while in his village during the war Goma village in Simbaru chiefdom was attacked and over ran by the rebels who then amputated both hands of one pa Momoh Tabor the first person that lost both hands before the rebels entered in to Freetown. The inhabitants of Goma village abandoned their village and came to me at Jagbema village to seek refuge, as chief I hosted every body as a native mende man would do by giving and putting everything to the disposal of his stranger.
While staying with me at Jagbema village they were still doing their daily farming work in their bush at Goma. Later the war intensified, as Chief I went and stayed at Teiyama village then the Goma people and every body abandoned the village and the town broke during the war.
Chief explained that before the war when the Chinese people came to Dodo to do some work on the hydro they all stayed with him at Jagbema. During there stay the Chinese build a mosque, court bari and five houses in the village in his care.
After the war he start paying daily visits to Jagbema to revive his assorted plantation (pineapple, palm tree, banana, mango and other permanent crops), which is over ten acres and to rebuild his housed at Jagbema after he had received some corrugated iron zinc.
At one time when he went to the village to do his usual brushing together with his son Kenei Jusu, he alleged that over one hundred youths among them were Ensah Gibrila the youth leader, Alpha Jamoh, Lansana Belay, Moiwah Kobi, Gilo Sudema, Bockarie Saffa and others went and attacked them in the bush and chased them with the saying that they would be kill if caught but they narrowly escaped and returned to Teiyama village which is about three miles from Jagbema where they explained what has happened to them.
The attackers then brushed and cut down huge portion of his plantation and threatened to invade Teyama village if they meet any body in the Jagbema bush again as it belonged to them.
Pa Jusu further went and reported the matter to the Paramount Chief of Dodo PC Foday Fabah Kpakra about the ugly situation saying that the attackers were alleging that the PC Madam Mamie Gamanga of Simbaru chiefdom sent them to brush the bush as she want to do farming work in that part of the bush as it belong to them in her chiefdom. Pa Jusu said the Goma people are attacking the said place because they have heard that the Chinese people are coming again to expand the dam.
The Paramount chief of Dodo immediately instructed his subject to go to Tongo police to make a report about the incident. The police at Tongo division and some pressmen from the SLBS FM. 93.5 radio in Kenema paid a visit to the scene and some snaps and video recordings were done in the area. Police in Tongo at first invited all parties to Tongo but the Simbaru group failed to respond to the call and later the matter was transferred to the Provincial administration office in Kenema after some investigations have been made in Tongo field in the Lower Bambara chiefdom. The Provincial administration and the police then invited parties to the Provincial administration office and did some preliminary investigation and have since flagged the bush as no body is allowed to work in the bush until the matter is resolved.
Speaking to the Provincial secretary east Alhaji Salia Magona about the matter told Awoko that the matter is a long standing dispute that have been in the two chiefdoms and is now left with the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police East to take action on the matter before it is too late.
This place has been in dispute for ages, reports state that in 1939 three bacons were place on the boundary by our colonial master, which both parties agreed upon. After some years the Goma people went and removed the bacons and brought it to the then District Commissioner DC Bassie at the District office here in Kenema. In 1984 another bacons were put at the place in the present of late PC Momoh Kanneh of Koya chiefdom in the Kenema district and Mr.Ganda Bassie the then DC who then demarcated again and gave right to Dodo chiefdom.
The Goma people later went again and removed the bacons, which then led to the flagging of the land, which was then put in the care of PC. Teresa Vibbi of Kandu Leppiama chiefdom, but the Dodo people have since been working in it under her name. Until lately when the Goma people went and destroyed the plantations. Up to the time of going to press Awoko have made several efforts to get in touch with the Simbaru people but to no avail.
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