Hundreds of traders at the Ganta General Market in Nimba County have begun cleaning the old market site, vowing to reclaim the ground and return to selling there after years at a newer modern market hall.
The aggrieved traders said businesses at the modern facility is poor, with fewer buyers and inadequate space and they want to commerce businesses at the old market in the center of Ganta.
The traders said the old market site belongs to local traditional authorities, who are now asserting a claim to the land.
Hawa Morris stated that this is the third time they have come to reclaim their land.
Several vendors, including Annie Weah and Esther K. Dahn told reporters they are suffering because customers rarely visit the modern market, forcing them to act and return to the old site.
Tension rose after members of the traditional council described by some residents as the “bush masters” visited the market and requested use of the central parcel for their customary practices.
The visit followed the arrest and 30-day jail sentence of former Ganta City Mayor Amos N.G. Suah, who was also fined US$100 and ordered to retract a statement.
Traders pointed out that the traditional leaders want the land for rituals and other activities, complicating the dispute.
Local officials reacted as the situation escalated.
Ganta City Mayor Samuel Saye Hardt told reporters his office would issue a formal response the following day. Nimba County Superintendent Kou Meapeah Gono posted on social media, directing County Police Commander ACP Larmie Mendee and Mayor Samuel Saye Hardt to deploy heavily armed officers to remove traders occupying the disputed land.
A number of traders said the modern market, built after the government designated the old site as eminent domain about 16 years ago, has failed to attract customers the way the old market did.
They complained the new facility lacks space and commercial activity, leaving many vendors with little income.
Background to the dispute
In 2010, former President Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf declared the old general market an eminent domain and constructed a modern market hall for vendors.
But vendors said the new site has not generated sufficient business and that the old market plot, left undeveloped for years, has become neglected.
Local residents reported the vacant land has become a gathering place for criminal activity.
Youths have reportedly used the long grass for sex and several bodies have been found there, raising safety concerns.
Legal and traditional claims
Chief Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay Sr., speaking on a community radio station in Ganta, said there is no clear legal action called “emment domain” (eminent domain) being properly implemented in this case.
He noted that the legal procedures for an eminent-domain takings including compensation and resettlement for occupants, whose property was destroyed, were not followed and no funding has been provided to affected people. Because those procedures were not completed, he said, there is effectively no valid eminent-domain claim on the land under the law.
Security preparations and traders’ vow to return
Despite the legal uncertainties, government authorities have begun preparing for a heavy security operation.
Officials pointed out that a large deployment of armed officers is scheduled to arrive in Ganta and will move early Monday morning to prevent traders from occupying the old market site.
The traders, for their part, are undeterred.
Dozens cleaned the grounds in recent days, removing weeds and trash and vowed to return to the old market as early as 5:00 a.m. on Monday to resume trading.
Scenes on the ground
On Saturday morning, the old market site presented a mix of hope and decay. Vendors swept pathways through tall grass and stacked empty stalls, while others painted signs and cleared trash left by months of neglect.
Children played amid piles of debris; nearby residents watched the preparations warily.
Traders described a sense of urgency: many said they cannot survive another season of poor sales at the modern market and that returning to the central location would restore foot traffic and livelihoods.
Local leaders and next steps
County and city officials face a difficult choice between enforcing public order and addressing the livelihoods of hundreds of vendors. Superintendent Gono’s order to police to remove the traders underscores the government’s priority on public order, but Chief Justice Gbeisay’s comments highlight unresolved legal questions over whether the land was properly taken and whether affected people received due compensation.
With both traders and traditional leaders claiming rights to the parcel and the government preparing a security operation, the situation in Ganta remains highly volatile.
Observers are calling for an urgent, mediated discussion among vendors, traditional authorities, city officials and the police to avoid violence, clarify legal ownership and find an immediate plan to restore traders’ incomes—whether by improving the modern market’s facilities and customer access or by creating a clear, lawful process for returning traders to the old site that includes safety, sanitation and legal protections.