Moroccan Family Sues King Mohammed VI in Marrakech Land Dispute

The heirs of one Benmoulay Ali Alaoui filed a case against King Mohammed VI in 2017. It was on February 23, 2017. A date that will certainly remain in memory.

The case concerns a plot of land, according to Goud.ma, a plot called "Bendehmane", located behind the Ben Youssef high school in Marrakech. The plot is (only) one hectare. For the heirs, this land belongs to them. But the municipality was using it. Then it divided a piece of it, which ended up being registered in the Land Registry in the name of the Royal Domains, then in the name of King Mohammed VI himself.

The heirs then sued, claiming that they had not received any compensation in exchange for the land. They estimated their loss at some 20,000 dirhams (?!), which seems little given the sensitivity of the case.

The king was represented by the lawyer Hicham Naciri who, for his part, asked that the complaint not be accepted, arguing that the heirs cannot justify the ownership of the land. Which is what happened. The complaint was rejected.

However, Goud points out that since it is the complaint itself that was rejected, the plaintiffs can file another case, correcting their mistake, and file a new complaint. The media, which publishes the court decision, also points out that 20,000 dh is well below the real value of the land.