Top: The DayLight was established in 2020 and began publishing in 2021.
By Gabriel Dixon
MONROVIA – A DayLight investigation was selected as one of the best in Africa, the online environmental newspaper’s first international recognition.
The Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) chose “How a Family Smuggled Timber for over a Decade” for May. It was listed alongside investigations from Kenya, Nigeria and Mozambique in the GIJN monthly recognition of great African works. Established in 2003, GIJN supports, promotes and produces investigative journalism, with 250 members.
“This is a victory for Liberian journalism,” said James Harding Giahyue, DayLight’s Director/Managing Editor, who conducted the investigation. “Our team, partners and networks need this motivation, as we hold extractive and environmental actors to account.”
The DayLight was unaware of the feat until recently.
In the investigation, Giahyue dug through documents to shed light on how a Caldwell family forged paperwork, evaded taxes and trafficked timber for 14 years. He reviewed shipping records, trade websites, a WhatsApp chat and audio recordings to expose the family. It was a follow-up to a previous story by Varney Kamara, The DayLight’s senior reporter.
A screenshot of a Global Investigative Journalism Network newsletter listing The DayLight investigation among the network’s stories for May 2025.
The investigation led to a police inquiry into tax evasion, forgery and economic sabotage against Ben Wesseh, the suspect. However, there has been no indictment, some five months later.
It also led to a change in the Ministry of Agriculture department that issues phytosanitary certificates, which certify that timber is free of pests.
The DayLight was established in 2020 with a mission to produce evidence-based stories from nature’s frontiers, as well as inspire a new generation of Liberian investigative journalists. It coordinates the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists (CoFEJ), which has over three dozen members nationwide.
Since its first publication in April 2021, The DayLight has won four national awards, two each in 2022 and 2024.
DayLight investigations have led to four prosecutions, five police probes, at least two Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fines, three suspensions, and two dismissals of a forest ranger and a police commander.
They have also led to an FDA reshuffle, an EPA halting of an illegal carbon deal, inspired a legislative inquest of a quarry company, and led to a ban on a certain logging activity, known as block wood or “kpokolo.”
Top: Bendu Sonii received US$120,000 from Mano Palm Oil Industries as damages for an accident that left her with one leg. The DayLight/Harry Browne
By Matenneh Keita and Harry Browne
BALLAH’S TOWN, Grand Cape Mount County – A woman, who lost a leg in an accident involving a Mano Palm Oil Industries vehicle, received US$120,000 for damages.
In May last year, a Mano vehicle swerved off the Babangida Highway and hit Bendu Sonii, a casual laborer with the Lebanese-owned company. Doctors at the St. Joseph Catholic Hospital amputated Sonii’s right leg, which was severely injured in the accident.
After recovery, the 42-year-old mother of eight continued to receive her US$70 or US$80 wage and four 25-kilogram bags of rice. However, that changed after she won the lawsuit against her employer for damages.
“The money Mano gave was US$120,000. I brought it and turned it over to [Sonii],” said Sensee Johnson, the victim’s fiancé. “We took off the expenses that were made, and the balance was saved in the bank.”
The payment is a soothing twist in a sad story.
In an interview on her hospital bed two months later, a distressed Sonii could not hold back tears. She continued that mood even after she was discharged from the hospital, ruing a bleak future.
Not long after her story was published, Sonii found a lawyer and sued Mano at the 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Tubmanburg, Bomi County.
She petitioned the court for US$1.45 million in damages for wrong, personal injury and emotional distress, court records show. However, she reached an out-of-court settlement with the Lebanese-owned company for the eventual amount.
Having received the payment, Sonii praised the justice system, her spouse and journalists for the victory.
“I tell God thank you for the situation that came to me between me and Mano Oil Palm Plantation. The law was there to fight my case, and today I have become successful.
“It was difficult but thank God the laws of Liberia were there for me during the court process.
“My husband was there and also [The DayLight] too fought. All of you were there for me,” added Sonii at her home in Ballah’s Town, Grand Cape Mount County.
Mano did not speak on the settlement. Richard Hilton, the company’s communication officer, promised to grant an interview but evaded reporters.
Additional reporting by Gabriel Parker in Tubmanburg, Bomi County.
Top: A drone picture of the Sapo National Park. The DayLight/Carlucci Cooper
By Varney Kamara and Philip Quwebin
CHEBIOH TOWN, Sinoe County –WhenAndrew Saye learned that security forces wanted him out of the Sapo National Park, he grew nervous. He was in for a big surprise.
Joint security forces, including the soldiers, police officers and forest rangers, removed Saye without using any force. He was among some 2,000 illegal occupants, predominantly miners, who were removed from the park earlier last month.
“They talked to us well,” said Saye, who stayed seven months in Sapo. He spoke in an interview in Chebioh Town, one of the communities adjacent to the park. “They did not beat us.”
It signals improved relations between the government and local communities. Conflicts between communities and the government over illegal activities in the park have resulted in deaths and injuries. In May 2017, a mob of local rioters killed a ranger and severely injured four others. In retaliation, state security forces moved into the area, killing one townsman and arresting several others.
Joint security forces have peacefully removed about 2,000 occupants from the Sapo National Park in Sinoe County. Picture credit: James Giahyue
Established in 1983, Sapo National Park is Liberia’s first and largest reserve, spanning over 180,000 hectares across Grand Gedeh, River Gee, and Sinoe Counties. It is a global biodiversity hotspot, sheltering 125 mammal species and 590 bird species, including several endangered species.
However, it faces threats from illegal logging, farming, and mining, according to a 2012 report.
Last month, a joint security team expelled the occupants from “Camp America,” one of 13 known settlements in the park. “Operation Restore Hope IV” safeguards the park and combats illegal migration in the southeast. It also addresses financial and wildlife crimes, as well as human and drug trafficking.
After their deployment, the security team held mass meetings with community members and sent messages to camp masters, giving them a two-week ultimatum to vacate the park. Then they set up bases in Korjahyee, John Wolo Village, and Nyennawliken in Sinoe, Grand Gedeh, and River Gee, respectively.
“We are working cooperatively and removing them from the park,” John Smith, Sapo’s Chief Park Warden. The move was meant to improve relations between adjacent communities and security forces, added Smith.
After the ultimate expired, people still fanned around. So, the joint security forces blocked the park’s entrances, which compelled some occupants to vacate.
Next, the team walked nine hours into Camp America to remove the remaining occupants. There, they assembled occupants, explained their mission, and profiled the occupants. Then the exodus began.
A man stands next to the grave of Friday Pyne, a ranger with the Forestry Development Authority. Pyne was killed in 2017 by a mob of local rioters. Picture credit: James Giahyue
“There was no food or goods in the area. So, after that, we all left and came out of the bush,” Shedrach Pyne. He—no relation to the late Friday Pyne—had spent a month mining gold in the park.
The security forces searched the occupants. Female soldiers searched the woman, while the male soldiers searched the men.
They seized illicit drugs and a bottle of mercury, according to an unpublished report of the operation, seen by The DayLight. No arrests were made, as illegal miners were allowed to take their belongings, including water pump machines.
Joint security forces then demolished the makeshift structures the miners had used to pillage the reserve.
Security forces are now preparing to clear the remaining camps in the park.
Top: Marijuana joint security forces seized from illicit miners in the Sapo National Park. Filed picture/Joint Security
By Varney Kamara
KORJAYEE, Sinoe County – Joint security forces have seized a slew of banned substances from illegal occupants in the Sapo National Park, dismantling a major, decades-long illicit drug hub.
Last month, soldiers, police, anti-drug agents, border officers, and forest rangers deployed at “Camp America,” one of the 13 known illegal settlements in the park. So far, some 2,000 people have been removed from the area, and with them an array of drugs from occupants.
“The place is a lawless ground where people are getting drunk with harmful drugs in the camps,” said John Smith, the park’s manager, in an interview with The DayLight in Jaylay Town. “We also heard stories about people getting intoxicated, and a few death cases relating to harmful drugs in the camps.”
Drug abuse is one of the adverse impacts of mining on communities. However, this is the first time the ones associated with the Sapo park, West Africa’s second-largest rainforest, have come to light. Pictures of the seizure in an unpublished official report, seen by DayLight, show heroin, marijuana, tramadol, and the deadly Kush. An unpublished joint security report, seen by The DayLight, said occupants practiced “immoral and cruel acts far away from human civilization.”
Top and here: Several grams of heroin, commonly called Italian white or tar, were seized by joint security forces in the Sapo National Park in August. Filed picture: Joint Security Team
The park’s drug trade is being fueled by Nigerians, Sierra Leoneans, and other nationalities, using land and water routes, according to residents and ex-park occupants alike. Drugs are smuggled into the park at night, eluding rangers.
Many illegal occupants are hooked on drugs, according to ex-occupants DayLight interviewed. After taking in the harmful substance, they bleed from their noses and mouths. In some cases, they die from an overdose.
“Our children are spoiled with drugs. As a mother of three boy children, I am saddened by the pictures I saw in the camp. When I see a boy child smoking and think about kids, it makes me feel so bad,” said Beatrice Giddings, who ran a business in the 1,804-square-kilometer park. Giddings was speaking to reporters in Korjayee, where the joint security is based, and one of the entrances to the forest.
An AFL soldier searches women for contraband. Filed picture/Joint Security Team
Leaked videos obtained by The DayLight corroborate Giddings’ comments. In one of the videos, a young man is seen crying and begging for mercy while being tied. His cries, however, fall on deaf ears, as his torturers ordered that he be given kush instead. A deadly mixture of chemicals, kush kills about a dozen weekly and hospitalizes thousands in neighboring Sierra Leone. It has wreaked havoc in Liberia since its introduction four years ago.
Nixon Browne, chairman of the Movement for Citizen Action, which advocates for the park’s protection, said people have made illegal drugs a permanent business in the park.
“The camps are a major hideout for this kind of criminal business that the guys need to support their habit,” said Browne. “There are other people who want to live in the camps because there is a drug there.”
Top: A forest in Jacksonville, Bong County, in 2020. Picture credit: Harry Browne
By Winnie Oguerilam
As the world accelerates efforts to address climate change, carbon markets have become a central mechanism linking environmental stewardship with economic opportunity. For Liberia, a country endowed with vast forest resources and rich biodiversity, carbon markets offer a promising path to sustainable development, poverty alleviation, and international climate leadership.
Understanding Carbon Markets and Carbon Credits
A carbon market is a system that enables the buying and selling of carbon credits. Each carbon credit represents one metric ton of carbon dioxide (CO₂) either removed from the atmosphere or prevented from being emitted. These credits can be generated through a variety of projects and activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Examples include protecting existing forests, planting new trees, shifting to renewable energy sources, improving agricultural practices, and managing waste more sustainably.
Countries and companies that produce more emissions than allowed under regulations or voluntarily set targets purchase carbon credits to offset their excess emissions. There are two main types of carbon markets. The compliance market involves transactions regulated by governments under international agreements such as the Paris Agreement. The voluntary market allows businesses and organizations to buy credits to meet self-imposed environmental goals or demonstrate corporate social responsibility.
At its core, the carbon market places a monetary value on the reduction of carbon emissions, creating an economic incentive for conservation and sustainable practices.
Why Carbon Markets Matter for Liberia
Liberia is home to a significant portion of the Upper Guinea forests, one of West Africa’s most important and intact tropical rainforest ecosystems. These forests are critical not only for Liberia but for the global climate. They absorb vast quantities of carbon dioxide, helping to mitigate climate change. Beyond carbon sequestration, Liberia’s forests support biodiversity, regulate rainfall patterns, protect watersheds, and provide livelihoods for thousands of rural communities.
For Liberia, participating in the carbon market offers multiple benefits that align with environmental conservation and economic growth.
New Revenue Opportunities
Carbon credits represent a new and sustainable source of income. As global demand for credible carbon offsets rises, Liberia could generate millions of dollars annually by protecting its forests. This revenue could diversify the country’s economy, reducing dependence on traditional sectors such as mining, rubber, and timber, which often have significant environmental and social costs.
Community Empowerment and Development
Properly designed carbon market projects have the potential to directly benefit local communities, particularly those living in or near forested areas. Funds generated can be invested in schools, healthcare facilities, clean water systems, and livelihood programs. This approach can help reduce poverty, strengthen local governance, and ensure that the people who protect the forests receive tangible rewards.
Environmental Conservation
Carbon finance provides a strong economic rationale for preserving Liberia’s forests. By attaching financial value to standing forests, it becomes more profitable to conserve trees than to clear them for agriculture, logging, or mining. This not only helps combat climate change but also safeguards biodiversity, protects soil quality, and maintains essential ecosystem services.
International Climate Leadership
Liberia’s active engagement in the carbon market would enhance its global standing. It would demonstrate the country’s commitment to international climate agreements and sustainable development goals, strengthening its voice in climate negotiations and attracting further international support and investment.
Why Now Is the Time for Liberia to Act?
The urgency of embracing carbon markets cannot be overstated. The global appetite for carbon credits is growing rapidly. Governments, multinational corporations, and financial institutions are under increasing pressure to meet ambitious net-zero emissions targets. They are looking for high-quality carbon credits from countries with large, intact forests, making Liberia one of the few nations with the natural capital to meet this demand.
At the same time, Liberia’s forests face escalating threats. Illegal logging, mining, agricultural expansion, and infrastructure development put immense pressure on forest resources. If Liberia fails to develop alternative sources of income that reward conservation, the value of its forests will decline, and deforestation will accelerate.
Fortunately, Liberia has taken important steps in environmental governance. It has strengthened environmental laws and institutions, improved monitoring systems, and committed to international climate agreements. This progress lays the foundation for Liberia to develop transparent, accountable, and credible carbon trading systems.
Addressing Challenges for Success
Despite their promise, carbon markets come with challenges that Liberia must proactively address to ensure fair and sustainable outcomes.
Transparency and Accountability are essential to build trust among all stakeholders. Clear systems must track carbon credit projects, verify emission reductions, and ensure revenues are properly managed. Without these safeguards, carbon markets risk corruption, fraud, or mismanagement that could undermine Liberia’s credibility.
Drone shot of a community in Gbarpolu. The DayLight/James Giahyue
Community Inclusion is critical. Forest-dependent communities must be active participants in carbon projects. Their consent, rights, and benefits must be respected and prioritized. Excluding local people risks social conflict, project failure, and loss of forest protection.
Institutional Capacity must be strengthened. Liberia needs investment in technical skills, data infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks to navigate the complexities of carbon markets. Partnerships with international organizations and experts can accelerate this process.
Seizing a Defining Opportunity
Liberia stands at a crossroads. Carbon markets offer a unique opportunity to transform the country’s natural wealth into a foundation for sustainable growth and climate action. Rather than viewing forests as obstacles to development or sources of short-term profits through logging or land conversion, Liberia can treat its forests as living assets—generating income, creating jobs, supporting communities, and helping to solve the global climate crisis.
The decision is clear: Carbon markets are shaping the future of climate policy and economic development worldwide. Liberia must choose to lead rather than follow. By drafting a national strategy that balances conservation with economic needs, invests in strong governance, and includes local communities, Liberia can position itself as a leader in Africa’s emerging green economy.
The world is watching. Liberia’s forests are too valuable to lose and too important to ignore. With decisive action today, Liberia can secure a prosperous and sustainable future for generations to come.
The time to act is now. Liberia’s next chapter in sustainable growth starts with the carbon market.
Winnie S. Oguerilam is a Communications and Public Relations professional with a background in Environmental Science. She is currently serving as a trainee in the Political, Press & Information Section at the European Union Delegation in Liberia, where she supports public diplomacy and policy outreach. With experience in climate communication, advocacy, and community engagement, Winnie’s work bridges the gap between sustainability, governance, and public awareness. Her research and writings focus on environmental resilience and market-driven solutions to climate challenges in Liberia and beyond.
Top: Some of the over 2,000 illegal occupants the Armed Forces of Liberia removed from the Sapo National Park in Sinoe County, so far. Filed pictures/Joint Security Forces
By James Harding Giahyue
Monrovia – Joint security forces have removed over 2,000 illegal occupants from the Sapo National Park in a crackdown on transnational crimes and regional insecurity.
A report on “Operation Restore Hope IV,” seen by The DayLight, said the forces had full control over “Camp America,” one of the park’s 13 illegal settlements. It said soldiers had set up camps at one location each in Sinoe, Grand Gedeh and River Gee.
“People were processed into two categories to exit the park: women and children first and then men,” the report said. “The men were also placed into categories to exit the park in order not to overwhelm the officers escorting them out of the park.” The report said some of the illegal occupants fled the camp.
The report said a gradual and humane approach was required to remove the occupants because many had stayed there for over a decade. All entrances to the camp have been shut down, with only people exiting the park allowed, it added.
Over 200 officers walked for nine hours to Camp America in the 697-square-mile Sapo. There, they demolished structures and mines, and seized illegal items before amicably removing occupants.
Pictures in the report show illicit drugs, a bottle of mercury and a single-barreled gun. One picture shows soldiers standing before a crowd of cooperative occupants, with tarpaulin-roofed huts in the background.
Security forces observed that occupants used only the L$500 and L$1,000 notes, with the report calling for an anti-money laundering investigation.
The report also cited a high level of prostitution, human trafficking and cruel acts, which are “far from human civilization.”
Established in 1983, the Sapo National Park is the largest in Liberia and the second largest in the Mano River region. It is home to a variety of endangered species, including African elephants, pygmy hippopotamuses, and western chimpanzees. With the highest diversity of mammal species, it is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.
However, the park has been plagued by illegal activities for decades.
Illegal occupants leave the Sapo National Park in August. Filed picture/Joint Security
The operation is the largest since United Nations peacekeepers removed 5,000 occupants in the 2000s, marking the end of Liberia’s civil wars. It’s part of broader efforts to combat illegal cross-border activities, illicit financial flows, and the influx of undocumented migrants into southeastern Liberia. Immigration authorities have recorded over 54,000 Burkinabés in the region, an EU envoy linked to a Sahel migrant crisis.
In all, the joint security, comprising soldiers, policemen, border guards, rangers and anti-drug agents, intend to remove an estimated 15,000. They are expected to move to the other 12 known camps, including the most infamous Camps Afghanistan and Iraq.
Top: This poster shows Randy Scott, one of Liberia’s most notorious miners, a mine he is associated with in River Gee, an exploration mining license his company RAC Inc. has for Lofa, and a fake business registration certificate RAC Inc. presented to obtain the license. Picture credit: Facebook/Randy Scott and Prince Copeland for The DayLight
By James Harding Giahyue
MONROVIA – In January, RAC Incorporated, a mining firm owned by Randy Scott, who was involved in Liberia’s largest mining scandal in Gbarpolu, acquired a gold-exploration license for Lofa County. The three-year license covers 210.76 square kilometers in the Zorzor and Salayea Districts.
But what the Ministry of Mines and Energy apparently did not notice was that at least one of RAC’s documents was fake. A DayLight desk review found over a dozen inconsistencies on RAC’s business registration certificate, ranging from dates to markings.
RAC’s actual certificate was issued on August 1, 2023, and expired on July 26, 2024, according to the Business Registry’s records. It has not been renewed. RAC was first registered on March 31, 2021, about the same time it was founded, according to the company’s business registration certificate and articles of incorporation, and was enrolled at the Liberia Business Registry. An official listing of all the companies Mr. Scott owns or co-owns revealed RAC’s certificate indeed expired on Independence Day last year and had yet to be renewed.
The document RAC filed with the Ministry of Mines claims it was originally registered with the Business Registry on July 30, 2024. It was a red flag because the information contradicted the Business Registry’s records. Moreover, the Ministry of Mines’ records show that RAC’s operations date back to 2022, further proof that RAC could not have initially registered in 2024.
The document in question indicates that RAC’s business registration ran from July 30, 2024, to July 23, 2025. This is inconsistent with certificates issued by the Business Registry. Normally, certificates, which are issued in July, expire in June the following year.
The document identifies the company as “leasing and renting of motor vehicles.” This description omits mining and quarrying, RAC’s main scope of business. Also omitted is the Liberian seal, which is a crucial feature on known samples of valid business registration certificates.
A fake business registration certificate RAC Incorporated, owned by Randy Scott, a notorious illegal miner, presented and obtained a gold-exploration license in Lofa County, covering 210.76 square kilometers.Liberia Business Registry records show that RAC’s valid business registration certificate expired on July 26, 2024, and has not been renewed
A tax identification number—unique to a taxpayer—appears at the top-right corner of valid certificates. However, RAC has that detail in the body of the document. It even repeats the company’s business registration number, which, like a taxpayer identification number, appears only once on valid certificates.
Generally, the document in question contains more wording than real business registration certificates. The most telling is a line at the bottom of the document that reads: “This certificate is evidence of registration by enterprise branch/subsidiary as a taxpayer and employer.” The clause is unique to RAC, as valid certificates do not contain that line, suggesting that RAC deployed it to deceive the Ministry of Mines —and it worked.
Forging a document is a crime under the Minerals and Mining Law of Liberia, with a fine between US$1,000 and US$2,000, or a two or three-month prison term after a court process.
‘Go [and] sue me’
The investigation is a follow-up to an initial publication, which established that RAC Incorporated had been issued the exploration license with an expired business registration certificate. It had also found that RAC and Gee Mining Resources Ltd., its affiliate, were involved in illegal mining in River Gee County. The evidence established that RAC signed an MoU with local people, while Gee Mining conducted the mining. Satellite imagery showed that Gee Mining operated over 1,000 meters outside the nearer of its two claims.
The DayLight has written Minister Wilmot Paye about RAC’s forgery and illegal mining activities in River Gee, and the regulator has contacted the Business Registry to verify the document.
Confronted with evidence of the fake document, Scott sounded unbothered. “If you have evidence that my document is fake, go and sue me,” he said in a phone interview. “Do you know a fake document?” Scott holds 95 percent of RAC’s shares, while one Moses Luther holds the remaining shares, according to the company’s articles of incorporation.
This is not the first time Mr. Scott, who co-owns and is linked to multiple companies, has been involved in illegal mining activities. Last July, he and several Chinese nationals were indicted in Liberia’s largest mining scandal, valued at US$48.8 million. Earlier, the Environmental Protection Agency fined J.M. Mining, another of Mr. Scott’s companies, US$95,000 for operating without a permit. Before that, Urban and Rural Services Inc., to which he is connected, operated with an expired license.
Integrity Watch Liberia provided funding for this story. The DayLight maintained editorial independence over its content.
Top: C&C Corporation’s truckload of timber leaves Vambo Township in mid-March. The DayLight/Ojuku Kangar
ByEmmanuel Sherman
MONROVIA – The Forestry Development Authority (FDA) and a logging company have asked the Commercial Court at the Temple of Justice to dismiss a US$5 million lawsuit against them for alleged damage to 3,200 acres of land in Grand Bassa County.
Khalil Haider, a Paynesville resident, claims that the FDA authorized C&C Corporation to harvest logs on the plot without his consent. He further alleges that the FDA honored a letter that forged Haider’s signature, ignoring his warning and approving C&C’s operations.
The land in question lies between the St. John River and Mt. Findley in the Vambo Township of Grand Bassa’s Compound Number Two.
The defendants challenged Haider’s claim and questioned the procedure through which he filed the lawsuit.
In its response, the FDA questioned the validity of Haider’s deed. The regulator argued that it was unlikely a deed was signed in 1958, 111 years after Liberia gained independence in 1847.
“Haider is a fabricator who would go to any length to tarnish the reputation of individuals managing the forestry sector, as evidenced by his assertions, which are all lies,” read the regulator’s petition.
The FDA added that Haider should have filed the lawsuit in his mother’s name instead of his own name. It denies receiving any communication from Haider, warning it about an alleged fake letter.
C&C’s only argument was about Haider filing the lawsuit in his name. It cited the Decedents Estate Law, a 1956 act that requires children to represent their late parents.
It is the prayer of [C&C Corporation] to dismiss [Haider’s] motion because it lacks legal basis,” the company’s petition read.
Haider’s counterargument
Haider insists on his US$5 million damages in his response to the FDA and C&C.
Khalil Haider. Picture credit: Khalil Haider
Haider counterargued that the FDA questioning of his deed’s validity was “unintelligible and lacked legal coherence.
“If counsel argument is that a deed executed in 1958 is invalid merely because Liberia gained its independence in 1847, such reason is unfounded,” read Haider’s response. “By that logic, all subsequent land transactions would be inherently fraudulent, which is patently absurd.”
On his lawsuit procedure, Haider said that Decedents Estate Law C&C referenced empowered him to sue in his name. He said his petition recognized his late mother as owner of the property. Haider’s response referenced a 1983 case and two 2001 cases.
“In view of the above, I pray respectfully that the Honorable Court deny Defendant’s request for dismissal,” said Haider, “as said request lacks legal merit.”
This story was a Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).
Top: The decomposed body of Deppuh Kobera, a 15-year-old Ivorian cocoa farmer, is discovered in a River Gee forest. The DayLight/Prince D. Copeland
By Prince D. Copeland
FISH TOWN – An Ivorian boy who recently crossed the Ivorian border into Liberia to work on a cocoa farm has been found dead in a River Gee Forest, the police said.
Fifteen-year-old Deppuh Kobera had gone missing last Wednesday, farming cocoa in the Kwawe Gee-forest in Glorra District Forest, according to the River Gee Police Detachment. His body was discovered three days later in a nearby forest, beheaded, with bullet wounds to the head. A 15-man jury confirmed foul play.
“The investigation is growing deeper to establish who his killers are, how he came to Liberia, who lodged him, and where he was living,” said Theophilus Togba, River Gee Assistant Police Commander. “The situation is really tragic and embarrassing because someone crossed the border from the Ivory Coast into Liberia and lost his life here.”
No suspects have been arrested since the discovery. Meanwhile, the investigation continues, according to the police.
“We have started speaking with residents in that place, and they are giving us some traces of the incident,” Togba said to this reporter without stating when the outcome of the investigation would be released to the public.
Kobera’s death is the fourth in the region linked to the influx of Burkinabe cocoa migrants. Last month, Eric Nyenpan, Sabastine Saylee, and Aaron Teah, three men of the Kiteabo and Glarro subtribes, were murdered in a land dispute. Over 20 suspects were arrested and sent to the Fish Town Central Prison, where they await trial in that case.
With support from Liberian hosts, Burkinabes cross the border along the Cavalla River in search of cocoa farmland. Immigration authorities have recorded 55,000 Burkinabés, with over 4,000 recorded in River Gee.
This story was a Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ) production
Top: A log yard outside Greenville, Sinoe County. The DayLight/Derick Snyder
By Varney Kamara
MONROVIA – Forestry actors in Liberia are calling for amendments to the regulation on benefit-sharing to enhance communities’ share of resources generated from the sector.
They spoke recently at a national conference that brought together representatives from civil society, environmental groups, lawyers, and the government. The change would improve governance, transparency, and accountability, and ultimately lead to better sector performance, they said.
“The idea is to ensure that we carry out a broader reform that includes other sectors that are important to leverage development across communities,” said Silas Siakor, lead campaigner at Integrated Development and Learning, which promotes development across communities.
“We are only looking back to see where we can strengthen the existing frameworks to move forward,” Siakor added.
The law mandates that 30 percent of logging revenue from land rental be allotted to affected communities. A 2011 regulation also requires openness, transparency, accountability, and community participation in the management of forest resources.
Both the law and regulation empower the Trust to collect communities’ shares, consult with local land management committees, and identify and approve projects to be implemented within specific timeframes.
As of December 2024, the board had completed 44 projects across communities, including schools, clinics, and the rehabilitation of farm-to-market roads.
Despite progress, several challenges remain. The board continues to struggle to deliver quality services. Its implementation outputs are weak, hampered by limited capacity and compliance issues.
However, with the right reforms, combined with a more resilient internal structure, sector leaders believe these challenges can be overcome.
To achieve this, they have proposed revisions to include mining and representatives of other sectors on the Trust. Other proposed changes include the election of the trust’s president and a provision allowing it to seek continuous donor support to ensure regular audits.
“During the discussion, we agreed that the board needs to improve its capacity, outsource contracts, and conduct regular audits to ensure transparency and accountability,” said Renee Gibson, an official of the Rural Integrated Center for Community Empowerment.
At the close of the meeting, delegates agreed to submit a proposed plan of action to the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) following a review process that will finalize its details within three weeks.
