July 29, 2021
By Ilyasa Baa
Corpses buried at the Godrich cemetery in the western rural area (Christian section) have been exposed due to illegal sand mining taking place in the village.
A number of human remains have been relocated to other graves after sea water washed away some of the graves. This unfortunate situation was orchestrated by the action of the community youths to mine sand close to the cemetery.
Chairman of the Western Rural District Council, Kasho J. Holland-Cole said after meeting with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), warned the village people not to mine sand in that area. He said he has invited both the Headman and Councilor representing the area to a meeting this week.
“Disciplinary action will be taken against the Headman and the Councilor for what happened”, Kasho blasted. He said by virtue of the Local Government Act, the Headmen and Councilors are supposed to assist the council with regards the security of council assets which include cemeteries.
Residents of the village are calling on council to restore the respect of the dead by stopping the unlawful sand mining activity. Our sources in the village maintained that the activity of sand mining has become a lucrative deal for the boys who are now selling the sand to construct companies and other private structures.
However, it has been indicated that residents were allowed to mine during the weekend for domestic use only.