By Kadijatu Bangura, Reporter (D.S)
A Freetown land dispute in the High Court has taken a fresh turn after a plaintiff produced bank transfer receipts she says confirm payments of $10,000 to Dr. Richard Konteh, an All People’s Congress (APC) stalwart, over an alleged uncompleted property transaction.
Testifying as a rebuttal witness, Marie Sesay told the court that she wired three payments totaling $10,000 into Konteh’s Chase Bank account between March 2010 and March 2011. She said the money was meant for four town plots in Gloucester, at $2,000 each, as well as fencing costs.
Sesay told the court she made the transfers on:
- March 25, 2010 — $5,000
- April 19, 2010 — $3,000
- March 19, 2011 — $2,000 (designated for fencing)
Her testimony, she said, contradicts Konteh’s earlier position that he did not receive payment for the land.
According to Sesay, she was never given conveyance documents covering all four plots. Instead, she said she received a conveyance from a third party, Mohamed Kamara, covering only two plots, which she rejected. She added that Konteh later acknowledged he had not personally seen the land and that it belonged to a friend who was selling it.
Under cross-examination, Sesay maintained that the arrangement was a commercial transaction rather than a gift. She said she still sought $8,000 for the land plus $2,000 for fencing.
The matter was adjourned to March 27 for further hearing.
Earlier, on February 18, Dr. Konteh told the court that the claim against him was driven by blackmail, dismissing assertions that he received $8,000 for the transaction.
Appearing before Justice Manuella Harding, Konteh said that while he provided his banking details to Sesay in 2009, he had not confirmed that any payment was made. He told the court he only offered to “pre-finance” the purchase of a two-plot parcel to assist a family member.
He further claimed that tensions intensified in 2019, when Sesay allegedly sought to acquire the remaining two plots an area he said he intended to use for a student hostel. Konteh alleged that Sesay’s sister, Florence Turay, later came to the site with “police and thugs” to halt construction.
Konteh also told the court he offered a different four-plot option to resolve the dispute, but said Sesay rejected it, which he claimed was because she had “resorted to blackmail.”
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