MONROVIA – A landowner, Safee Edwardson, has expressed outrage over what he described as a premature and disrespectful move by the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) to conduct a groundbreaking ceremony on his property in Congo Town without finalizing a purchase agreement.
Edwardson said the CDC had approached him to buy two lots of land located in the Congo Two area. He disclosed that the property is valued at more than US$300,000. However, he was shocked when the party proposed to pay only US$5,000 upfront, with a promise to continue negotiations after hosting their groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for October 18, 2025.
“I’m disappointed,” Edwardson said. “They came to me, expressing interest in buying the land, and I told them clearly that it was valued at over US$300,000. But what disappointed me more is that they offered only $5,000 to do the groundbreaking and said we would talk about the rest later.”
He described the CDC’s approach as lacking transparency and legal basis, stressing that no binding agreement had been signed to justify the holding of a public event on his land. In response to what he views as a violation of his property rights, Edwardson has filed a writ before the Monrovia City Court against the CDC, citing alleged criminal trespass and related offenses.
Meanwhile, Eugene Lenn Nagbe, Chief of Staff in the office of former President George Manneh Weah, has dismissed the landowner’s claims, insisting that the CDC legally acquired the property. “Even if we buy land in Heaven the Unity Party (UP) will want to do things to stop us, nothing going to stop our groundbreaking on Saturday,” Nagbe said.
He maintained that the CDC’s plan to build its national headquarters will proceed as scheduled. “We are going to build our headquarters in record time, and we will later go to Grand Bassa to break ground for another headquarters,” he asserted.
Nagbe further argued that the land had been lawfully purchased from its legitimate owner, who acquired it in 1963. “The legitimate owner bought their land in 1963 and sold it to us. The land is in fence, and I don’t think anyone will put someone’s land in fence for so many years without the person raising concerns,” he stated.
His remarks followed the release of an audio recording on Spoon Talk in which an unidentified individual claiming to be the rightful owner of the land said he met with Nagbe and threatened to seek a writ of prohibition against the planned CDC groundbreaking.
The dispute has set the stage for a potential legal showdown as both parties hold firm to their claims. The CDC maintains that its ceremony will go ahead, while Edwardson insists he has not authorized any activity on his property.
