Samuel Bruce fights government for his property in court

Samuel Bruce

A legal battle over a property in Benque Viejo del Carmen is now before the Chief Justice. In one corner is Samuel Bruce, who got an injunction in the Supreme Court to stop the takeover of his property. In the other corner is the government, who wants the land. And smack in the middle is the Mount Carmel Primary School. Today the case started before Chief Justice, Dr. Abdulai Conteh, but it did not last for very long because the attorneys for the government, Priscilla Banner and Magali Perdomo asked for an adjournment in order to prepare skeletal arguments.  The adjournment was granted but the CJ did not grant their request to have the injunction varied, which means that it will be applied to both sides.  This would have prevented both Bruce and the government any kind of control over the land.  According to Bruce, the entire property is worth one point two million dollars and he wonders why government is trying to take control of the land for a private institution that already has plenty to spare.  News Five sat down with Samuel Bruce, the man who says he has held title to the land for close to two decades.  Marion Ali reports.

Marion Ali, Reporting

Samuel Bruce has been living in Benque Viejo del Carmen for the past twenty years and says he has owned just over nine acres of land in the area since 1991.  Over the years, he has developed the front half of the property.  But according to Bruce, the government wants to acquire four point four acres of that land for Mount Carmel Primary School, a private Catholic institution.  And that has brought the two sides before the Chief Justice.  Bruce explains how he came to own the land.

Samuel Bruce, Landowner

“When I originally acquired the land, I bought it from a private individual, it was a private property, it was never a government land or lease land. In 1991, I bought it from Jose Guerra Mena.”

Marion Ali

“From then you’ve been working on it?”

Samuel Bruce

“Oh yes, there have been extensive development in the front section closest to the hydro or Arenal Road and then in July and August of 2008 when we were forming the People’s Coalition, neighborhood watch and these programs to combat crime.”

Bruce says that he wrote to his Area Representative, Edwin Contreras, outlining his plans to develop the other half of his property for the economic upliftment of the community.  The plan for the multipurpose facility includes swimming pools, playgrounds, a skateboard park, sporting courts, and space for business booths.  He said Contreras initially supported the plan but when the work began, Bruce said he got a surprise.

Samuel Bruce

“I was informing him what my plans were with the hope that he would assist in some type of concessions and things like pumps for the swimming pools, things like that because he is the Minister of Economic Development and he is our Area Minister and he had pledged the support for such a project. Only until a friend of mine who works in Lands brought to my attention that my land is being acquired for a public school.  That was in January of 2009.”

By November of last year, Bruce said Mount Carmel had already conducted surveys on his land.

Samuel Bruce

“I was shown a document where the Ministry of Natural Resources gave permission for them to survey my land and on two occasions they had gone into my land, chopped and cleaned certain areas to make a survey, chopped down trees and stuff.  The survey was done on November ninth, 2009.”

Marion Ali

“But do you have an understanding of how they got access to it?”

Samuel Bruce

“Not one official church leader has spoken with me.  I would welcome them.”

We tried to get Minister Erwin Contreras and the person in charge of Mount Carmel Parish, Deacon Cal Cathers, but both were out.  The Minister, we were told will be out for the entire week.  Reporting for News Five, Marion Ali.

Samuel Bruce told us that he also had an appointment in April last year to see the Minister of Lands, Gaspar Vega, and that when he went to the Minister’s office he was told there would be no meeting. The case will resume on February twenty-third.