A truck transports logs outside Greenville, Sinoe County in 2023.
Top: A truck transports logs outside Greenville, Sinoe County, on January 3, 2023. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue
By Varney Kamara
MONROVIA – Horizon Logging Limited, an Israeli-owned logging company with unknown owners, smuggled timber to the Ivory Coast on multiple occasions, valued at US$437,000, A DayLight investigation found.
The two shipments occurred in 2023 and 2024, according to Trademo, a US-based business platform that publishes international trade data. However, those shipments happened outside of LiberTrace, Liberia’s legal timber-trading system.
Of the total value, Horizon shipped US$163,790 in 2023 and US$273,380 in 2024, the data shows. One of its Ivorian buyers is the Abidjan-based Sdma, which offers sea, air and land transport services.
A review of all of Horizon’s export records through LiberTrace shows no trace of the Ivorian shipments. Further review of its trading at the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and the Liberia Revenue Authority produced the same result.
Companies can trade outside LiberTrace and still pay export taxes to the LRA due to weak coordination among public entities. However, Horizon did not pay any taxes for its Ivorian shipments, the LRA records show. This means the exports happened outside the entire government system and were smuggled across the eastern borders. The exports were documented because the Ivorian government declared them under international trade protocols.
Exporting logs outside the legal system violates the Regulation on Establishing a Chain of Custody System. The regulation provides that timber is traced from its origins to the final destination. The idea is a centerpiece of forestry reform and Liberia’s timber trade agreement with the European Union, which has decided to terminate the deal over continued violations.
Ivory Coast, likewise, prohibits the illegal importation of timber, according to the country’s regulations on the import and export of forest products. The laws state that entities engaged in the import of forest products must get approval from the Ivoirian Minister of Water and Forests, and documentation of a timber legal origin.
“Illegal timber extraction and shipments create a compounded loss for Liberia. Communities lose legitimate forest benefits, livelihoods and climate resilience, while government loses revenue and potential economic benefits, says Dayugar Johnson, the lead campaigner at the Civil Society Independent Forest Monitor.
“At the community level, illegal logging and exports can deprive forest-dependent communities of social benefits and other revenues that could support schools, health facilities, roads, water systems and livelihoods, undermining their rights, as well as fueling local conflicts.”
Mystery owners
The illegal shipments are not the company’s only wrongdoing. The DayLight found other issues with Horizon’s ownership. Horizon Minerals BV holds 99 percent of Horizon’s shares, and one Dov Aronvich holds the remaining. However, Horizon Minerals BV does not list its shareholders, a requirement under the Beneficial Ownership Regulation of 2023.
Originating from the Liberia Business Association Act, the regulation requires companies to declare their ultimate beneficial owners or the individuals who own them. It is part of a global scheme to combat financial crimes, including money laundering, terrorist financing, and tax evasion. As part of that fight, the Liberian cabinet approved the establishment of a beneficial ownership registry.
Horizon Logging Limited abandoned several logs in Konobo Community Forest, Grand Gedeh County. DayLight/Samuel Jabba
Horizon has been inactive for two years now, according to its business registration certificate. It deserted a 15-year logging contract with the Konobo Community Forest in Grand Gedeh County. It promised to pay the community, build a school, and erect hand pumps, among others, in exchange for harvesting Konobo’s 49,627-hectare forest. Instead, it left unpaid benefits and several logs in the moggy forest and other locations.
Horizon did not respond to The DayLight’s queries for comments.
Augustus Abram, one of its executives, acknowledged receipt of the newspaper’s queries. Later, he denied it was him, even though the newspaper had contacted him earlier this year about Horizon. The DayLight also called his number on official documents and emailed him, but both attempts failed.
Moreover, The DayLight tried contacting Lev Segev, another Horizon executive, but that effort proved unsuccessful. The newspaper then emailed Jamil Ali Fayad, Horizon’s incorporator, but that too did not materialize.
Top: A signboard of the Krahn-Grebo National Park in Grand Gedeh County. The DayLight/Esau Farr
By Esau J. Farr
BILLIBO TOWN – The Forestry Development Authority (FDA) has regained control of the Grebo-Krahn National Park from traditional leaders in Grand Gedeh County for the first time in months.
The FDA recently did so following a meeting in Billibo Town, Konobo District. Since May, traditional leaders prevented the FDA from entering the forest due to a misunderstanding over forest rangers’ alleged destruction of cocoa plants.
“We have resolved the issue,” said Alex Grant, the Superintendent of Grand Gedeh County. “This means that FDA’s rangers can now go into the forest and do their regular work free of intimidation.”
The traditional leaders in the Konobo District had held rangers for allegedly breaching traditional norms. The followers of the masked dancer, commonly known as “country devil,” claimed rangers cut down young cocoa trees outside the park. As a result, they held them for a whole day, demanding a cow and two sheep for their release.
The rangers denied any wrongdoing, saying rangers only destroyed tents that illegal occupants had built in the park during a routine inspection.
They were only released after the intervention of James Saylee, Paramount Chief of Gbardru Chiefdom, Konobo District, who provided a sheep and a bag of rice.
But the rangers’ ordeal was not over. The traditional leaders demanded that the FDA present a cow and the two sheep to have access to the park.
At the Tuesday meeting, the Ministry of Local Government disagreed with the actions of the traditional leaders.
“Don’t use the culture to solve matters,” said William Jallah, Assistant Minister of Culture. “If you hide behind the culture, it will give the Superintendent and the Legislature a hard time to fight your case,” Jallah called for coordination among traditional leaders and local county officials, and warned them of stern punishment against troublemakers.
“We don’t want a repeat of what happened in Sinoe during the regime of former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf when traditional activities were banned for five years,” Jallah said.
At the end of the meeting, everyone agreed that rangers resume their work in the park.
Jerry Yonmah, FDA’s Technical Manager for Conservation, appreciated stakeholders for jointly helping to put an end to the misunderstanding. He encouraged rangers to better collaborate with community people to manage the park.
“I feel happy that this matter has been resolved,” said Yonmah. “I told our people that hearing actions that undermine the government’s work sometimes border on disrespect for the government.”
Illegal miners enter the park
In the absence of rangers in the park, illegal miners began mining there. Locals told The DayLight they chased the miners from the area. DayLight could not independently verify the information.
Established in October 2017, the Grebo-Krahn National Park covers 97,136 hectares of forestland that lies between Grand Gedeh and River Gee Counties southeast of Liberia. It is home to forest elephants, chimpanzees and pygmy hippopotamus.
It holds over 300 animal species and 270 plant species, highlighting its environmental significance. The park is also designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International, the world’s leading global partnership dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats.
One of two loggers killed in a logging accident on August 12, 2026 in Numopoh, Sinoe County
Top: The body of one of the loggers killed in an accident last week. Picture credit: Superintendent Darius Nagbe, Sr.
By Myer Saydi
NUMOPOH — Two loggers died after a tree crushed them in Sinoe County recently, the police said.
The victims have been identified as William Wleh Tarpeh, 49, and Stephen Chea Jr., about 25. They were contractors with African Finch Logging Limited, a company operating the Numopoh Community Forest in the Kpanyan District.
“Our investigation is ongoing. We are working to establish exactly what happened and to identify the people who were involved in the logging operation when the accident occurred,” said Moses Dweh of the Liberia National Police’s Criminal Services Division.
“Unfortunately, the company has not yet identified the workers allegedly involved, which is making it difficult for us to fully establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.”
Preliminary accounts indicate that Tarpeh and Chea had completed their assignment when the tree the unnamed worker cut fell on them.
The accident left Wleh trapped beneath a heavy log, where he reportedly remained for nearly two days before his body could be recovered. The recovery operation drew county officials, chiefs and elders, and residents to the scene.
Chea Jr. was rushed to Kilo Town Clinic on Tuesday evening following the incident, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Speaking through their grief, Stephen Chea, Sr., father of the deceased, expressed profound pain over the death of his son.
“I am fully and painfully frustrated. I don’t see any meaning in living any longer. Why is this world so wicked and heartless?”
Stephen’s mother, visibly devastated by the loss, said her son would never return home again.
“My son will never come back again. See the nasty way my son died!”
The remarks reflect the deep emotional pain surrounding the tragedy. They also express concerns about how the matter has been handled after their son’s death.
Stephen Chea Jr. (arrowed) was one of the two loggers killed last Tuesday in Sinoe County. Picture credit: Facebook/Stephen Chea, Jr.
Nathaniel Wah, African Finch’s Human Resources Manager, expressed condolences to the bereaved families.
“It was an accident, no body deserved such a death. We all regret this, and we console the families. We are in pain and frustrated,” Wah said.
He said that the deceased men were contracted through a subcontractor that is responsible for African Finch’s production.
There are growing concerns about the company’s responsibility and the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
Residents and local authorities are reportedly seeking answers about the individuals who were operating the chainsaw at the time of the accident. They want to know whether other workers have been brought in for questioning by the police.
Concerns have also been raised about why logging operations have reportedly continued while the deceased’s families are still mourning.
These concerns have intensified calls for the relevant authorities to establish exactly what happened, determine responsibility where necessary, and ensure that appropriate safety measures are being followed at logging sites.
Darius Nagbe, the Superintendent of Kpanyan District, expressed frustration over African Finch’s “inadequate response to the tragedy.”
We are worried that individuals who allegedly felled the trees are yet to be identified,” Nagbe said. He called for the chainsaw operators who felled the fatal tree to be turned over to the police for questioning.
Dweh, the police officer assigned to the case, said the investigation has encountered difficulty because the company had not identified the alleged chainsaw operators—the company has since not commented on this issue.
For the families of Tarpeh and Chea Jr, the pain goes far beyond the questions now being asked. The two men left home expecting to return. Instead, their families received their dead bodies.
This is a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).
Top: Men offload non-timber forest products on a beach in Greenville, Sinoe County, in January 2024. The FDA permits export of the NTFPs amid a moratorium. File Picture: Anonymous
By Esau J. Farr
MONROVIA – A Chinese company was permitted to ship logs despite the existence of a moratorium against such shipment, official records show.
Jiuzhou International Liberia Limited, a sand mining company, exported 320 pieces of camwood to China in January, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s records. Camwood (Baphia nitida) is a hardwood tree grown mainly in West Africa used as a natural dye, soap-making and woodworking. It is among wood species with high price values in Liberia, selling US$550 per cubic meter.
Jiuzhou’s export was confirmed by Export Genius, a US-based business platform that publishes international trade data. Export Genius’ data also reveals that last year Jiuzhou made a similar export, both exports valued over US$13,000, and passed through the Freeport of Monrovia.
The Forestry Development Authority’s records show that Jiuzhou’s exports occurred outside the legal system for timber trade, or LiberTrace.
But in 2021, the FDA placed a moratorium on non-timber forest products (NTFPs), including camwood. Then, the FDA’s board of directors retained the moratorium in a July 2024 board meeting.
“All other certificates signed by the [Managing Director] become null and void,” according to unpublished minutes of the board meeting seen by The DayLight. “FDA needs to invite all those involved for a way forward.”
Albert Blanyon, the newly appointed FDA Deputy Managing Director for Technical Services, said the regulator does not enroll NTFPs in LiberTrace.
“I can’t confirm if a moratorium was passed,… as people I asked, who were here at that time, can’t confirm, nor is there any document to that effect,” said Blanyon.
The facts contradict Blanyon’s comments.
At the July 2024 meeting, the FDA board agreed that the moratorium remained in place until the Regulation on NTFPs, formulated in 2008, was reviewed. The board intended to use the review to address deforestation and the lack of benefits for communities that host NTFPs.
Two years on, however, there is no record that the review has happened. Key forestry NGOs, including the Botanical Products Association of Liberia, which raises awareness of the protection and trade of NTFPs, said they were unaware of it.
A truck carrying a load of a non-forest timber product in Sinoe in 2024. Picture credit: Anonymous
“We have not really been informed about any review on the NTFPs Regulation,” said Fredrick Gonkartee, the association’s president.
The Jiuzhou exports are not the first of NTFPs since the moratorium five years ago. Last year, The DayLight found evidence that the FDA violated it by awarding businesses permits to export chewing sticks.
An underground market
Jiuzhou was established in October 2013. It is owned by two Chinese nationals: Hao Shuli (80 percent shares) and Wang Depeng (20 percent shares). It has had 10 licenses between 2020 and 2026 for sand mining and rock quarrying in Margibi County. It could have one more license, which is under review for a sand mine between Margibi and Grand Bassa Counties.
In an interview, Li Yuan Hai, a Jiuzhou executive, denied any wrongdoing, as the FDA had approved the exports.
“Me, I didn’t do anything on my own,” Li said. “I paid my tax to the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA). If the government was going to say I didn’t pay tax, then that’s my problem.”
Asked whether he was adding forestry to his company’s mining profile, Mr. Li now said he did not own the wood. He had aided friends to ship the consignment, using his company’s documents.
The underground NTFP exportation resembles Kpokolo—containerized timber blocks shipped outside the legal system, and banned in 2022.
Men offload non-timber forest products on a beach in Greenville, Sinoe County in January 2024. Picture credit: Anonymous
Exporting outside LiberTrace leaves no trace, does not verify tax payment or community benefits, and does not show the exporter’s eligibility. Furthermore, like in the case of kpokolo, FDA managers control the accounts into which companies pay NTFP fees.
Forestry campaigners are critical of timber exports outside the legal system.
“Illegal timber extraction and shipments create a compounded loss for Liberia. Communities lose legitimate forest benefits, livelihoods and climate resilience, while government loses revenue…,” said Dayugar Johnson, the chairman of the Civil Society Independent Forest Monitors.
Johnson added, “Illegal logging and exports can deprive forest-dependent communities of stumpage fees, social benefits and other revenues that could support schools, health facilities, roads, water systems and livelihoods.”
Top: A 2022 photo shows an earthmover loading logs into a container in Grand Bassa County. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue
By Samuel Jabba
MONROVIA – A scrap company on the Japanese Freeway shipped round logs to India outside the legal channel for timber export. Elephant Multipurpose Corporation exported the seven round logs to India in January, according to records of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The shipment was confirmed by Market Insight, an international trade data company and subsidiary of Business Insider, the US-based global financial news giant. It is the only shipment the company, established in 2021, has made. Omkara Overseas, an Indian textile firm, was the buyer.
But records from the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) show that the export occurred outside of LiberTrace, the legal channel for timber trading, known as the Chain of Custody System. The evidence reveals that Elephant Corporation is not registered in the FDA’s system, and has never traded through it. Additionally, Sundeh Albert Blanyon, the FDA’s Deputy Managing Director for Technical Services, confirmed the information.
Forestry Regulation on Establishing a Chain of Custody System requires that timber be shipped through the system so it can be traced from its origins to its final destinations. It guarantees tax payment and community benefit.
Having exported timber outside the system, Elephant Corporation evaded substantial taxes to the government and the community where the timber originated. Taxes include land rental, harvesting, and other fees.
“We have observed a lot of smuggling activities in timber exports. This has not improved businesses and revenue payment to the Government,” says Jonathan Yiah, the lead forest campaigner at the Sustainable Development Institute, a Margibi-based NGO. “Smuggling is bringing a lot of frustration within the affected communities.”
A collage of Elephant Multipurpose Corporation’s owners. Ismail Y. Sheriff (left) and Ayouba Kamara, via their WhatsApp profiles.
Penalties
Elephant Multipurpose Corporation was founded on October 12, 2021, according to its legal documents at the Liberia Business Registry. Mr. Sheriff has 60 percent shares, and Ayouba Kamara has the remaining ones.
Efforts to interview Sheriff and Kamara did not materialize. However, Mohamed M. Sidibey, an Elephant Corporation executive, claimed that the company had bought the logs at a public auction at the Freeport of Monrovia. He presented no evidence.
The National Port Authority did not confirm or deny the alleged auction. An NPA spokesman said the agency could not say anything about the export because it did not have the identification number of the container in which the logs were exported.
Regardless, the facts contradict the procedure surrounding the alleged auction.
NPA auctions goods that overstay at the ports nationwide. However, it does not have the authority to auction timber. Instead, that authority belongs to the FDA, per the Regulation on Abandoned Logs, Timber and Timber Products. The 2017 regulation requires the FDA to auction unattended logs with a court warrant. Violators face a fine, confiscation of their properties, and imprisonment, but companies exploit poor coordination among government agencies, customs brokers and truckers.
Confronted with the inconsistency, Sidibey shrugged off the likelihood of Elephant Corporation facing any penalties.
“I don’t know about any violation. When they close the company, then we will sit down. I don’t have a problem with the fines or imprisonment; that’s not an issue,” Sidibey said.
Much is unknown about Mr. Kamara’s track record, but his partner is all too familiar. A 2026 General Auditing Commission report found that Mr. Sheriff and 14 Nimba officials misappropriated US$12 million and L$55 million (US$305,555 today) from the county’s social and county development fund. Mr. Sheriff did not respond to queries for comment on that issue.
This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia.
Top: Stakeholders at the Proposed Kwa Gazettement forum in Monrovia. The DayLight/Esau J. Farr
By Esau J. Farr
MONROVIA – Forestry actors agreed to establish the Kwa and Wonegizi Protected Areas in Liberia, and expect them to become reality soon.
Officials held two public engagement forums in Monrovia to gather stakeholders’ input for Kwa and Wonegizi’s gazettement. Scores of conservationists, forest campaigners, and governmental agencies participated in the events.
“Today, we have come with a package to put this portion of the Kwa into protection for the future of our people,” said Rudolph Merab, the FDA Managing Director, at the Kwa event. “We appreciate the efforts of all who helped reach this far.”
Pygmy hippo
Kwa and Wonegizi safeguard critical swathes of Liberia’s remaining portion of the Upper Guinean forests. They are home to endangered species and are part of the country’s commitments to preserve 30 percent of its forests.
The Kwa Proposed Protected Area covers River Cess, Sinoe and Grand Gedeh Counties, extending some 236,246 hectares. Its establishment began in 2016. The FDA partners with the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, based in the Mano River basin, and the US-based Rainforest Trust to establish the area.
Kwa supports Liberia’s second-largest known population of critically endangered western chimpanzees, endangered pygmy hippopotamuses, and critically endangered slender-snouted crocodiles.
Dr. Annika Hillers, the Country Director of Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, told the Kwa ceremony reveled in the progress.
“We need to talk about what is best for the country and not what is best for an individual. We hope that for the best of Liberia, the proposed Kwa National Park will become a reality as soon as possible,” added Dr. Hillers.
FDA Managing Director, Rudolph J. Merab, Sr. The DayLight/Samuel Jabba
Zebra duiker
The Wonegizi Proposed Protected Area covers 27,645 hectares in Lofa County’s Ziama Clan. Started in 2013, the FDA works with Fauna & Flora (FFI), a UK-based NGO, to establish Wonegizi. Located along the Liberian-Guinean border, it is an important transboundary forest landscape with Guinea’s Biosphere Reserve.
Full of rocky terrain and lowland rainforests, Wonegizi is home to forest elephants, pygmy hippopotamuses, and the rare zebra duiker. It allows large mammals to migrate safely between the two countries, maintaining a range of diverse species across regional highlands.
The formation of Wonegizi is also meant to prepare communities for carbon trade with an estimated US$2.5 million community benefit annually, according to FFI.
“I am very pleased that we have come to this stage finally. It took a long process,” said Dr. Mary Molokwu-Odozi, FFI’s country director. “It will now be a smooth process going forward.”
Efforts to establish Kwa and Wonegizi have experienced challenges.
Kwa’s establishment has been stalled due to competing mining interests and agricultural activities. Between 2002 and 2025, Kwa lost 64,358 hectares or roughly 27 percent of its original size, leaving its current area at 171,020 hectares.
In June this year, citizens from Grand Gedeh’s Gbarzon District accused the FDA of illegally extending Kwa’s boundaries into farmlands and destroying their crops. President Joseph Boakai ordered an investigation into the matter.
Senator Augustine Chea of Sinoe County, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, called for caution.
“Consulting us is the right thing to do, but we must do this against the background that there are people who reside on the land, who have customary rights to the land,” said Chea. “Conservation is good, but survival is more important than conservation.”
Ancestral land deed
Meanwhile, Wonegizi’s establishment was delayed due to adjacent communities’ efforts to obtain ancestral land deeds. The communities finally obtained their deeds last year and earlier this year, thrusting the process forward.
Stakeholders also raised qualms about the human-elephant crisis in the region. In the last decade, elephants have raided towns and farms in the northwest in search of food. This has caused people to migrate to new areas.
“The elephant issue must be looked at as we don’t intend to harm them. Each and everyone’s interest must be protected in the process,” said Lavelah Massaquoi, the Superintendent of Lofa County.
The gazettement packages of the forest areas are expected to be presented to the Legislature for enactment. Once passed into law, they will be sent to the President for approval.
“We have done a lot, and we are now at the last stage of their establishment,” said Merab. “When we have finally passed the act that creates these areas, we will hope that you will support and ensure that it is not encroached upon.”
Top: A view of the Putu Pennoken forest with portions cultivated. The DayLight/Samuel Jabba
By Mark Neywon Mengonfia
PENNOKEN, Grand Gedeh – When the Putu Community Forest signed a logging agreement with Africa Wood and Lumber Company, residents hoped that the deal would bring jobs, development, and manage their forest. Instead, the Italian-owned company failed to deliver on its promises, and eventually deserted the contract.
Townspeople here are hosting scores of Burkinabé migrants for cocoa cultivation. Though it is illegal to farm in a community forest, locals use the failure of the logging contract to justify their encroachment.
“The company depleted the forest without benefits, but with the cocoa farming, in a few years, we will get benefits,” says Wullu Elijah, youth president in Pennoken, one of the towns that own the forest.
“Our parents hunted in this forest, took care of it from generation to generation; logging companies came and lied to people.”
Owned by an Italian businessman, Cesare Colombo, African Wood signed a seven-year contract with the Putu Community Forest in July 2019. The deal gave the company the right to harvest trees in a 21,337-hectare forest. The company agreed to pay the community US$22,603 annually for land rental and scholarships. It allocated funds for harvesting and development, but the amount is unspecified. The company also agreed to pave roads.
However, African Wood did not deliver as promised. It deserted the contract, abandoned hundreds of logs in the forest, and owes locals a substantial debt.
A town in Pennoken, Grand Gedeh County. The DayLight/Samuel Jabba
The failure of the logging contract influences the farmers’ rush for cocoa in Putu, according to residents and local leaders. Those who waited for support from families in Monrovia and abroad no longer tarry for such handouts, thanks to Burkinabé migrants, or Morsis, as locals call them. Across towns and villages, locals enter into a verbal agreement with the migrants. Burkinabés provide cash and labor, while their Putu landlords provide the land and home to stay. They use the profits generated from the cocoa cultivation to support families and their communities.
In forestry, it is illegal to farm in a community forest without the FDA’s authorization. Companies are under an obligation to harvest trees sustainably. However, that rule does not apply to the cocoa farmers. They cleared land stretching deep into the forest, using chemicals and setting trees ablaze to gradually fall.
In several places, large charred trunks lay on the ground afterward, while rows of newly planted cocoa seedlings now stand where towering trees and wildlife once thrived. Migrant farmers march along narrow paths and major highways, carrying cutlasses to or from the forest. Sometimes, up to 15, usually in pocket discussions.
Authorities say eight out of nine community forests are being cleared for cocoa cultivation, with massive encroachment on concessions and proposed protected areas. This is happening as Liberia lost 420,000 hectares of primary forest between 2002 and 2025, according to Global Forest Watch, an app that tracks deforestation. Grand Gedeh lost 72,000 hectares of primary forest, 11,000 hectares alone in the Konobo region where Putu lies.
“They are burning trees daily, and community dwellers themselves are involved,” says Beyan Woi, the FDA’s regional management officer for the southeast. “Most of [those] community forests that people wanted to do logging and conservation in are under threat by Burkinabés.”
There has been a series of arrests involving migrant farmers. Early last year, the FDA arrested dozens of Burkinabé nationals in the Konobo Community Forest for illegal farming and deforestation. Then in July of 2025, 31 more were jailed for alleged encroachment on a logging concession area. Two months earlier, authorities deported 60 for illegal entry and farming in a protected forest area. This June, authorities announced there were 140,000 Burkinabé migrants in Liberia.
Two Burkinabé migrants transport cocoa beans in Grand Gedeh County. The DayLight/Samuel Jabba
Residents are aware that their cocoa activities in the Putu Community Forest are illegal but cannot resist the cocoa benefits. Even those who upheld the law have now joined the bandwagon.
“I do not have a cocoa farm, but almost all of my family on our side here have cocoa farms,” says Patrick Rue, a community forest leader. Until now, Rue, a member of Putu’s community assembly, the highest-decision making body in community forestry, had advocated for the rule of law. He says the reality overwhelms him.
“I have decided to get a farm. I am convinced now because I have been fighting a one-man battle and it is not holding, so now I have decided to put in for Bukinabés,” he tells The DayLight.
Mr. Rue is not the only person who has flipped sides in this cocoa conflict. Farley Wilson, Putu Community Forest’s chief officer, is the unlikely newest.
Wilson says on many occasions he was tired of his efforts to save Putu Community Forest going to waste. He fears that he does not want to hold on until the opportunity disappears. He says he cannot sit and watch other residents cash out from encroaching on the forest while he protects it.
“If I don’t do anything, people will say, ‘Where were you?’”
This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).
A house in Salayea, Lofa County being constructed by a community forest loan scheme
Top: Nenee David’s house under construction in Telemu Town, which she funded with the loan she received from the Salayea Community Forest. The DayLight/Harry Browne
By Esau J. Farr
SALAYEA TOWN, Lofa County – Before joining the Salayea Community Forest’s savings club, Krubo Tokpah sold pastry in a transparent bucket for a year. Now she uses the loan to sell used clothing, which she uses to feed her children and send them to school.
“This program has made me have money all the time,” says Tokpah. “I can’t be a beggar again.”
Tokpah is the chairlady of the village saving and loan association in Salayea town, one of six communities adjacent to the Salayea forest. The loan scheme is helping to stop locals from using the 8,270-hectare forest in the Salayea District of Lofa County.
In 2022, Salayea Community Forest introduced the loan program to empower women and make them financially independent. Five women’s groups of 25 people each began the loan program, which now has over 250 beneficiaries across the district.
Palladium Group Liberia, a British NGO, trained townspeople and provided special boxes to save the money. Townspeople are prohibited from farming, mining, or building homes in the forest. However, people are allowed to garden in areas outside the primary forest, including swamps and marshes.
A drone photo of the Salayea Community Forest. The DayLight/Samuel Jabba
“The loan program and the other alternative livelihood programs are all helping to protect our forest,” says Yassah Mulbah, the head of the Salayea Community Forest. “It helps keep our forest from being destroyed,” adds Mulbah.
Before the loan program, unauthorized occupants mined and farmed in the Salayea forest. The loan program is now reversing that course.
“Two months ago, we did our infantry in the bush; we did not see any new farming nor a hunter in the forest,” says Garmen Flomo, a Salayea forest leader in Beyan Town. “There were animals that we did not see at first when we entered the forest.”
The scheme is one of several strategies the Salayea Community Forest is applying to stop illegal activities and reduce locals’ dependence on the forest. The other programs include animal farming, cocoa cultivation, guesthouse management and woodwork. Two Sinoe communities—Wehjad and Jaedae—are implementing a similar project to protect their forests.
Transformation
Beneficiaries of the loan scheme say the project is paying off for them.
“I am happy for this program to come to us… because it is transforming our lives,” says Mamie Kollie, a Telemu Town resident. “From my savings, I am helping my husband to build this new house I am sitting under.” Situated on a hill in the center of Telemu Town, Kollie and her husband had zinced their new home. The house is built of bricks made of brown mud and cement.
Like Kollie, Nenee David, another Telemu Town resident, is constructing a three-bedroom house.
“We used some of the money that we got from the village saving loan to build our house,” said Madam David. “I used part of that money to buy different kinds of goods….”
Besides construction, businesses are improving every year. Members of the loan program expect to save at least L$3,000,000 (US$16,666) this year.
Mamie Kollie being interviewed at her new house in Telemu Town. The DayLight/Harry Browne
Businesses have moved from lower to higher levels since the introduction of the program. Like Krubo Tokpah and Garmen Flomo, both from Salayea Town, have moved from selling locally prepared bread to selling used clothes. Korto Flomo in Gorlu Town and other members of the Beyan Town program have swapped the table market for a shop.
Yassah Mulbah, Chief Officer of the Salayea Community Forest, is grateful.
“It has reduced most of the burdens on the women, and we want more support to increase beneficiaries.”
This was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia.
Drone shot of Deep Gold Incorporated mine in Gmarkemkpo, Sinoe
Top: A drone picture shows countless pits Deep Gold Incorporated abandoned and a portion of the forest stripped of vegetation in Gmarkemkpo, Sinoe County. The DayLight/Samuel Jabba
By Samuel Jabba and Myer Saydi
GMARKEMKPO, Sinoe County – On a Friday morning last year, Peter Togba went mining in an abandoned pit. Suddenly, he tripped and fell into the pit, and with no one else there to rescue him, he drowned. He had just turned 20.
Togba’s body was recovered the same day. Townspeople broke tradition and buried him in the town’s graveyard.
“They called me, saying, ‘Your son drowned’. How he even got here, I don’t know,” said James Togba, the victim’s father.
Togba was one of three people who have died at this mine in Gmarkemkpo, a town in Sinoe County’s Dugbe River District. The two other victims were an unnamed 10-year-old girl and a 30-something-year-old unidentified miner.
Deep Gold Incorporated Liberia, a Nigerian-owned company, has run the gold mine for over three years, having arrived here in March 2024. However, a DayLight investigation found that several people died at the gold mine; its owners have no license, and it pollutes a much-needed watercourse. It hollows out the community, has dug up an old land dispute in the region, and pays thousands to locals and community leaders to operate.
Deep Mining was established in 2023 by four Nigerian men: Olatunji and Adeyemi Odebunmi have 30 percent shares each, while Aderonke and Adediran Taiwo have 20 percent each.
Not much is known about the Taiwos in the region. However, the Odebunmis are all too familiar. Two other Odebunmis—Timothy and Samson—co-own Iroko Timber and Logging Corporation, an illegitimate logging company that operated in the Central Dugbe River Community Forest. It cut more logs than they could sell, leaving behind broken promises and unpaid benefits.
In March 2023, Deep Gold came to Gmarkemkpo, according to townspeople and company workers. One worker—we will call John Moses—said he had worked with the company in Grand Kru in 2019.
“For me, I am doing a lot of work here, but they hired me as a mechanic,” Moses said. His story was confirmed by James Jallah, the general manager, known locally as the black manager to distinguish him from the Chinese or other non-negro workers.
This means that Sinoe was not the first location of Deep Gold’s illegal activities, since official records show it has never had a license in the southeast. Notably, Deep Gold did not exist in 2019.
Payouts
Deep Gold’s footprints are all over Gmarkemkpo. There is a hilltop school, three hand pumps, and the road from Kabada through Gmarkemkpo to Pojeakpo. A document shows Deep Gold paid US$5,000 on November 18 last year for a town hall construction.
A Deep Gold earthmover at work in Gmarkemkpo. The DayLight/Myer Saydi
There are big payouts to county and community leaders, documents show. Deep Gold provides L$35,000 each month to 13 elders, according to Jallah, Augustine Wleh, General Town Chief and Acting Clan Chief, confirmed. One receipt shows a US$1,400 and L$210,000 payment to the Patty Gmarkemkpo’s clan.
“The money they are giving the elders is small. We want L$100,000,” said Wleh, sitting in his office wielding a gavel, a Liberian flag in the background.
Moreover, Deep Gold provides jobs for people in the region, including at least a government official. Sorrie Sackor, the Commissioner for the Gmarkempko Township, was suspended in May for alleged conflict of interest involving Deep Gold.
“This act is against the organic law of this nation,” the letter reads. Sackor denies any wrongdoing, though Jallah and Jericho Tarpeh, Deep Gold’s PRO, confirmed his employment. One document shows that Sackor witnessed a rental payment as HR manager after his suspension.
It is unclear how much minerals Deep Gold extracted from Gmarkempko since it operated in other areas.
Bartee Togba, community liaison officer, hinted at a success story. He manages the Central Dugbe River Community Forest, where the Odebunmis—the family of Deep Gold’s co-owners—operated.
“If you are seeing us wanting to renew the MoU, it means we’re one way or the other satisfied with the proceeds that came out of our operations,” he told The DayLight.
Nevertheless, Deep Gold operations are anything but open, even for a remote community. There are no signboards, and the workers have no ID cards. Three Chinese workers hid inside a camphouse, while another left on a motorbike after spotting reporters.
Emmanuel Barclay, Gmarkemkpo’s youth president, claimed that he was invited at almost nine o’clock at night to sign an MoU between the community and the company. At first, he refused because he had an issue with some of the terms of the draft. Following a dispute with the elders, he backed down.
“I told Mr. Sackor that there were some things in the MoU that were not to be there. However, some youth on the board said we should forget it and sign the document. So, we went and signed it,” Barclay said.
Open pits
Deep Gold kept Peter Togba’s and the unnamed girl’s deaths a secret. Like Peter Togba, she met her untimely death after falling into a huge mining pit.
Several abandoned, water-filled pits hollow out and nearly encircle Gmarkemkpo, extending close to residential homes. Drone footage shows that large sections of cleared green vegetation
Barclay said the company left the pits open to give local people an opportunity to mine, aware of the danger it poses.
Drone picture shows deadly giant-sized mining pits in Gmarkemkpo, Sinoe County, where two people died. The DayLight/ Samuel Jabba
Jallah denies knowledge of Peter Togba and the unnamed child’s deaths. He said Deep Gold did not restore the area because it was commonplace for companies to abandon mining pits. Later in the interview, he said it was not his company’s policy to reclaim the land while operating.
However, Jallah acknowledges the unidentified worker’s fatal fall. He explained that the doomed worker had come to Gmarkemkpo with Deep Gold from Grand Kru County. He, along with a colleague, was allegedly making away with a barrel of fuel and fell to his death in a canal. They laid him to rest on the riverbanks—this time—in keeping with the tradition. Drowning victims in the countryside are buried outside towns and villages to cleanse the town of bad luck.
On the legality issue, Jallah said the Ministry of Mines and Energy was processing Deep Gold’s license. Bartee Togba, the liaison officer, and Sackor, the suspended HR manager, had said the same thing.
But the facts contradict their claims. Deep Mining has no current applications and has never applied for a license in Sinoe, official records show. Its only two applications were for diamond exploration in Gbarpolu and an undisclosed location in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
In all, the Ministry of Mines and Energy records show that Deep Gold has never had a license anywhere in southeastern Liberia. Its three mining licenses for Grand Cape Mount and Gbarpolu are inactive. All three mining licenses were terminated in 2024 because it failed to file its environmental permits, quarterly reports, and other required documents. The Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative only published its licenses in the northwest, further proof that none exist in the southeast.
Through its operations, Deep Gold evaded US$160,100 in mining and environmental licensing fees, based on The DayLight’s calculation of official fee structures. Liberia could be losing US$1.4 billion annually due to smuggling in the mining sector, according to SwissAid, which tracks gold trading from Africa.
Official records show that Deep Gold Incorporated Liberia does not have a mining license for southeastern Liberia or an active license anywhere.
A land conflict
Deep Gold awakens an old land dispute between Gmarkemkpo and its neighbor, stalling the company’s illegal activities. In early May, it decided to extend its operations. The neighboring Nana Kru, which also claims the plot, protested and demanded a separate MoU with Deep Gold.
Sam Seah, Sr., the Superintendent of Dugbe River District, halted all activities. Then last month, the parties had the resolution meeting and submitted an MoU each. Seah ordered Deep Gold to work with the two communities and merge their MoUs.
Additionally, Deep Gold paid Nana Kru US$1,500 for polluting Fenja, a creek residents depend on for washing, cooking, and fishing. The creek is one of several tributaries of the Dugbe River, which runs throughout the southeast into the Atlantic Ocean. Tarpeh, Deep Gold’s PRO, revealed the company agreed to pay the community L$100,000 monthly as part of the fine.
Aerial view of Gmarkemkpo town in Sinoe County, showing mining pits nearly encircling the town. The DayLight/ Samuel Jabba
During four visits to the area, reporters observed that the creek was dark brown from the mining activities. Several canals divert water from the creek to the mine to wash gold-trapping gravel. Muddy runoffs, the byproducts of the process, emptied everywhere.
Angeline Swen, a 36-year-old townswoman, died of bloody diarrhea in February, likely linked to the contaminated water, according to her death certificate seen by The DayLight.
“We can’t even do anything with the water,” said Grace Nimely, a food seller in Gmarkemkpo.
Deep Mining took responsibility for the pollution. It erected three hand pumps in Gmarkemkpo, but they have all broken down. Townspeople now carry water sacks with them to their farms, with L$300 for one sack.
Back at the graveyard, sorrow subdued the surroundings. One of the newest, Peter Togba’s grave, is almost surely identifiable.
Barclay said, “My greatest regret is [Peter Togba] who died and the child that fell into the pit, especially since the company never took responsibility.”
This story was produced by DayLight with support from the Embassy of Ireland through Integrity Watch Liberia. The DayLight maintained editorial independence over its content, which does not reflect the position of the Embassy of Ireland or Integrity Watch Liberia.
Top: A drone picture of a forest in Grand Gedeh County. The DayLight/Samuel Jabba
By Varney Kamara
POUH TOWN – Local cocoa farmers in Grand Gedeh County manipulated signatures in an appeal letter to President Joseph Boakai, rejecting boundaries between their communities and the Kwa Proposed Protected Area, a DayLight investigation found. The investigation established that the letter was based on falsehoods, as some had already agreed to the proposed park’s boundaries.
Late last month, farmers from the Gbarzon District wrote to President Joseph Boakai, claiming forestry authorities did not seek their consent before cutting the boundaries. They allege that they signed no MoU and there was no guarantee they would have access to their farmlands. They had been intimidated, their properties destroyed, and forest rangers made unauthorized entry into their communities.
For this reason, the farmers want the proposed park’s boundaries pushed to 10 kilometers. President Boakai then ordered an immediate investigation into the matter. Official talks took place last weekend as part of the presidential inquest.
Covering 172,200 hectares, the Kwa Proposed Protected Area lies between River Cess, Sinoe, and Grand Gedeh Counties. It is part of Liberia’s efforts to protect 30 percent of its forests and contributes to the country’s climate commitments.
An ‘error’
The DayLight reviewed the appeal letter, interviewed some of its signatories, and found inconsistencies. Reporters found that although the letter to the President lists 16 signatures, only 15 people actually signed it. Abednego Zweh, a farmer from Pouh Town, where most of the appealing farmers live, signed twice.
George Totaye, another Pouh Town farmer, said he did not sign the letter.
“I personally cannot remember signing any petition. I cannot remember signing that communication,” said Totaye. “My farm does not extend on that side. I am not close to the park. I am not part of them.”
Zweh insists Totaye signed the letter, but listing 16 signatories instead of 15 was an “error.”
Routy Beh, a cocoa farmer in Pouh Town, sits behind his half-dried cocoa beans. The DayLight/Varney KamaraGarretson Seo, one of the cocoa farmers, grants an interview with The DayLight in Pouh Town. The DayLight/Varney KamaraDixon Roberts, General Town Chief of Tojallah, is one of 15 cocoa farmers who wrote to President Joseph Boakai. The DayLight/Varney Kamara
Several of the 15 cocoa farmers who wrote the appeal to President Boakai had consented to Kwa in 2023. They told The DayLight they hosted between two and 10 Burkinabés. Dixon Roberts (six Burkinabés) of Tojallah signed. Tommy Yarkpawolo (two) and Garretson Seo (10) of Goluay signed.
There were other inconsistencies regarding the farmers’ appeal, though. Last year, the communities signed a boundary harmonization agreement with the FDA and partners, confirming the 2023 boundary. Then early this year, the clans that host the communities signed agreements with the Liberia Land Authority, confirming the boundaries.
The DayLight also noted one more issue. Pouh Town, where the majority of the farmers live, is not among the communities adjacent to the proposed park. It is 19 kilometers away.
The farmers admitted signing the consent forms. However, they claimed they were unaware of any boundary demarcation.
“We agreed for the park to be created, but we never agreed on any boundary issue, and we did not take part in any boundary demarcation exercise,” said Yarkpawolo, who has a three-hectare cocoa farm in Gaye Town.
“During our previous meetings with the FDA and the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, we agreed that they would come back to us when they get ready to cut the lines. But, to our surprise, we only saw them destroying our crops,” added Yarkpawolo. His comments reflect the general view of farmers The DayLight interviewed, including those who did not sign the letter to Boakai.
But the facts contradict the farmers’ comments. The documents they signed show that they agreed to the boundaries, among other things.
“Our town confirms that since 2020 the FDA, LLA and partners have been holding community consultations and meetings to keep us informed. Our town confirms that as part of the boundary harmonization process, the boundary line was trekked by designated community members, local authorities, and relevant institutions, and all grievances were resolved,” read the consent document Yarkpawolo and other townspeople signed in Goluay.
A cocoa farm in Gbaryea Town in Gbarzon District, Grand Gedeh County. The DayLight/Varney Kamara
Apart from the consent form, other documents disprove the farmers’ comments.
As recently as May, community land leaders and clan chiefs signed a boundary agreement with the Liberia Land Authority for the proposed park. In the document, the farmers “fully acknowledged” the proposed Kwa Park and agreed on its “official boundaries.” Also, there is no record of any farmer raising any qualms when authorities published notices about the proposed park between June and August 2023.
Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, an NGO that works with the FDA to establish Kwa, refuted the farmers’ claim.
“From our side, the consent forms were signed by the rightful community representatives in 2023,” said Dr Annika Hillers, Country Director of Wild Chimpanzee Foundation. “The consent forms were about the establishment of the park, the confirmation of the [consent] process, the harmonized boundary, and also, communities committed not to do any farming and other activities inside the proposed park.”
Some youths agree on the current boundaries. “We need reserved forests for our children,” and “Enough is enough,” adorned their posters.
One farmer somehow conceded.
“I think we made a mistake from the beginning as a community,” said Dixon Poya, who lives and farms in Pouh Town. “When the people came with this discussion on the park issue, we were too quick to agree. We should have studied all other conditions that we are raising now.
“In my mind, we should accept what is happening. We can only appeal to the government to have some consideration and redraw the boundary back a little bit,” added Poya.
Under pressure
Dr Hillers also denies allegations of human rights abuses. “We are 100 percent sure that these allegations are false and that neither FDA nor any other law enforcement entity ever violated human rights or did anything not in line with Liberian laws,” she added.
The FDA did not respond to DayLight’s queries while the government investigates the issue. However, the FDA resurveyed the area and found that over 14,000 hectares of the proposed park have been clear-cut for cocoa cultivation.
Over the years, the park has shrunk from 236,246 hectares to 172,200 hectares due to competing mining and logging interests. The farmers’ boundary appeal comes amid cocoa-fueled, nationwide deforestation. Between 2000 and 2020, Liberia lost approximately 2.52 million hectares of tree cover, with cocoa responsible for about 15 percent of that, according to a 2024 report.
Local people smuggle in Burkinabe migrants from neighboring Ivory Coast into Liberia to plant cocoa. An estimated 140,000 Burkinabes have migrated to Liberia in Grand Gedeh and River Gee, according to the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission. This cocoa rush has also resulted in encroachments on community forests and logging concessions, leaving deadly land conflicts in its wake.
