By Vaye Abel Lepolu
Monrovia, Liberia — The Supreme Court of Liberia has stepped into a long-running land dispute affecting residents of Saye Town community, ordering an immediate halt to all proceedings in a case linked to the intestate estate of the late Counselor George S.B. Tulay.
By a formal citation issued through the Clerk of the Supreme Court, Cllr. Sam Mamlip, Legal Watch, Inc. Counselor Sylvester D. Rennie was informed that, acting on the directive of Her Honor Jamesetta H. Wolokolie, Associate Justice presiding in Chambers, he has been summoned to a chambers conference scheduled for Monday, February 23, 2026, at 12:00 noon.
The action follows the filing of a petition for a writ of prohibition by the administrators and beneficiaries of the Tulay estate, including Administrator Frederick Tulay and several heirs and community members of Saye Town, City of Monrovia. The petition seeks to restrain the Civil Law Court “A” for Montserrado County from continuing proceedings that the petitioners claim exceed the court’s jurisdiction.
Named as respondents are His Honor J. Boima Kontoe, Assigned Circuit Court Judge of Civil Law Court “A,” as first respondent, and Victoria Johnson Maxwell, acting through her Attorney-in-Fact, Jessie Payne, as second respondent.
In its directive, the Supreme Court ordered that all further proceedings and actions in the matter be stayed pending the outcome of the chambers conference.
However, on Saturday, February 2, 2026, residents of 4th and 5th Streets in Monrovia were awakened not by morning light, but by the roar of bulldozers and the shouting of officials ordering them to vacate homes many had lived in for decades. By 7 a.m., families watched helplessly as their belongings were thrown into the street and their houses demolished under a controversial court order, leaving hundreds homeless and sparking outcry over the legal legitimacy of the eviction.
The demolition followed a prolonged and complicated land dispute involving the Johnson and Bishop families, but residents insist the individual who enforced the court ruling—Eric Nagbe—has no legitimate claim to the property. According to affected homeowners, Nagbe alleges he purchased the land in 2011 from the late Jessie Pine, who once served as administrator for the Johnson family during earlier litigation.
However, residents counter that they have owned and occupied their homes since as early as the 1970s, with documented purchases dating back to 1997–98.
“Eric Nagbe never showed any of us documents to prove he bought this place from Jessie Pine,” said one resident, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation. “We’ve lived here for generations.”
An affected resident, Jamaima Tweh noted: “So yesterday morning by 5:00am, we woke up to PSU officials and sheriff from the court saying we should pack our things because they were given a mandate to destroy our homes without prior warning or notice.
