Land disputes have become legion in Gabon. Not a single month goes by without the press talking about it with breathtaking headlines. Although the files of land disputes are in the Courts and Tribunals, the phenomenon struggles to be resolved in the majority of cases. In Port-Gentil, more precisely in the PG2 district in the 1st arrondissement, Steeven Lekandangoye, after purchasing a plot more than six years ago for six million FCFA, was surprised by the presence of a former woman trader who had left in Tournant SEEG which carefully placed a container for commercial use in its concession.
“One morning I received a call from my brickmaker to inform me of the presence of women, who are cleaning the front of my plot. They justified themselves as agents of the town hall without ever presenting me with a document, and the next day without the slightest hesitation it was the container that they came to deposit”is surprised by owner Steeven Lekandangoye.
Indeed, in the recent past these ladies had been forced to leave their shopping area, following the construction of a service station at the PG2 crossroads. On good terms with the deputy technical director of the town hall of Port-Gentil to be her sister-in-law, she embarked on a process of illegal occupation of land by setting up her now small shop in the land of the aforementioned owner .
“She had been kicked out of the Tournant SEEG market and this is how she was invited to find a place, while the Town Hall built a market up to standards. That’s what the assistant technical director told me” he explains.
To settle this land dispute, the brother-in-law of the ‘wandering’ trader, Mr. Rock Awoulé, took the liberty, in a cozy and sealed office, to demand that the owner of the premises divert the barrier of the container in order to allow the sister of his concubine to fully exercise her activity. Faced with a joke, she even proclaimed herself to be the owner of the place without ever brandishing or holding the papers.
“He dares to suggest that I make a barrier by diverting the container of the ladies who are squatting at my house. I can’t even, it’s my home and no one dictates laws to me. She never had the papers for this land,” tonne Steven Lekandangoye.
Although some have been prohibited from building in order to avoid carcinogenic diseases, due to the high voltage electrical lines installed along this site but also due to several conduits for petroleum products located there, there remains none no less than the houses are numerous and as far as the eye can see.
According to him, ‘a meeting with the head of the neighborhood took place, and that’s where they decided that we should build but know that in the long run it makes you sick.’
According to the investigations carried out by the owner, it appears that it is a certain Rock Awoulé from the CTM service of the Port-Gentil town hall, who with his full support, allowed this annoying container to be placed on disputed land.
“It was he who authorized it, it was he who caused this whole affair. At his office he told me to handle it in the neighborhood. I say no ! If it happens in the shenanigans like they do, I will act differently because it’s bullying”he warns.
In order to balance the information, our team tried to get in touch with the squatter in vain! Same thing with the provincial land registry and housing department. There, the first manager did not for a single moment attempt to open his office to our correspondent. Steeven Lekandangoye promised to bring this matter to court if the container of discord does not leave his plot.
Jean-Jacques ROVARIA DJODJI.
2024-02-14 12:29:10
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