The Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs has started the process to formally recognise and gazette the Dama Yannie Ruling House, following a petition submitted to the ministry.
A public notice issued on 3 December 2025 said the Dama Yannie Ruling House is the first ruling house to be recognised after the partitioning of the Protectorate in Sierra Leone.
The ruling house traces its ancestry to Warrior King Maada Saffa Siacca Yannie, also known as Dama Yannie I, whose leadership helped shape early chieftaincy governance in the southern and eastern parts of the country.
According to the notice, the Yannie dynasty played an important role in the creation of chieftaincy structures after 1896, when the Protectorate was divided into chiefdoms. The lineage is linked to several chiefdoms, including Dama, Nyawa, Langulama, Small Bo, Wandor, Nongowa, Vawahun, Sowa and Jawie.
Historical records referenced in the petition include treaties signed between British colonial authorities and indigenous rulers of the former Galinas Kingdom between 1882 and 1898, later ratified in colonial records.
The notice also acknowledges Amara Siacca Lima Yannie, a World War II hero and paramount heir, who was officially appointed and honoured by British colonial authorities in 1950.
The current heir to the ruling house is Hon. Lahai Lawrence A. Lima-Yannie Jr, a former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs. The ministry says the gazetting process is now under review.
