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.

By Emmanuel Sherman, with The DayLight 

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.

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). It first appeared in The DayLight and has been published here as part of an editorial collaboration.

Paynesville – Dozens of old-folks in the Pipeline Community, in Paynesville outside Monrovia on Monday, Aug 25 benefited from free medical checkup from the Word of Life International (WLI), a Christian-based humanitarian organization.

By Emmanuel Weedee-Conway

The free medical checkup was provided at WLI School facility with over 35 old folks, most of whom were women, benefiting from the assistance.

The initiative is in consonance with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) number #4, which concentrates on ending poverty and leaving no one behind, according to Rebecca K.G. Nyamndo, WLI Ageing Support Coordinator.

The project targets old folks between the ages sixty years and above who are financially unable to cater to their needs and wants.

During the exercise, WLI conducted medical checkup for the participants including high blood pressure (BP), eyes, malaria, pause check, weight and temperature and provided recommendations for treatment.

Speaking in an interview with reporters during the exercise, a representative of the Ministry of Health, Madam Yassah Sumo, urged elderly Liberians to take their health more seriously by seeking regular medical checkups and avoiding self-medication.

Madam Sumo emphasized that aging comes with natural body deterioration, making consistent medical attention critical.

In so doing, she warned against the growing trend of self-medication.

“Regular health checks and proper medication are significant for aging. When the body grows old, there is a pressing need for early medical intervention whenever there is a health issue to ensure quick recovery and minimize high spending on treatment,” she stated.

She further encouraged older citizens to adopt healthy sanitation practices and balanced diets, noting that such preventive measures play a vital role in reducing health risks.

“Your health is in your hands. Let’s learn to go to the hospital and avoid home treatments or buying counter medications without a prescription,” she cautioned.

Also speaking at the occasion, Mr. Augustine K. Ndorbor, Program Manager of the WLI, assured residents and beneficiaries of the organization’s commitment to supporting vulnerable communities/population.

“Our doors are open to help you. We are in the process of constructing a clinic, and our aim is to cater to the poor and needy. In this regard, aging is our priority,” Ndorbor stated.

The awareness drive is part of the organization’s efforts aimed at strengthening community health education and improving access to medical services, particularly for the elderly and underprivileged.

Mr. Anderson Vanwen, WLI National Overseer, indicated that the initiative is intended to give visibility to the elderly in terms of medical need.

According to him, the concentration is to ensure that older folks from 60 years and above are well taken care of in the society in order to avoid discrimination and neglect.

 “We are providing this opportunity to our elderly folks in the age of sixty and above. We are doing this to help those that need medical attention but financially incapacitated,” Rebecca said.

The beneficiaries, for their part, extolled WLI for the gesture, terming it as lifesaving and rewarding.

Also speaking, old-man Momo Peter and Mother Patience Paygar expressed separate excitement and urged that the government comes in to buttress the effort of the church.

WLI was established in 1998 with a branch in the United States and also obtained Consultative Status with the United Nations in 2018. The group aims at caring for the aged. Its vision is “Connecting all people with resources in order to restore community pride and encourage self-resilience’’.

Since its establishment, WLI has been accredited as an international NGO by the Liberian Government and has been engaged in various programs in Liberia with funding from its USA Office.

BIG FANTI TOWN, Grand Bassa – Planks are scattered at various sites on a beachfront, a stone’s throw away from the Port of Buchanan, a fishing hub and a transit point for fishermen and fishmongers. Some are old, others fresh.

By Emmanuel Sherman, with The DayLight

The wood are leftover of timber smuggling that involves fishermen. Fisherpersons, canoeists, villagers and businesspeople in Sinoe, Grand Bassa and River Cess confirmed that fishermen used canoes to smuggle timber predominantly to Ghana. Smugglers, aided by villagers and artisanal loggers, paid Fanti fishermen to transport wood, including to other countries, a DayLight investigation found.

“All the canoes can bring the planks, they can carry them to Ghana,” said John Kwakue, a Ghanaian fisherman who lives in the Buchanan fishing community of Fanti Town.

“I saw it for the first time in 2014 and I did a little bit before but I am doing something else now,” added Kwakue.  

Kojo Ittah, another Ghanaian fisherman and a 15-year Fanti Town resident, said he had witnessed the smuggling on several occasions. “Last year, we went fishing, and I saw the canoe carrying [the timber] to Ghana. They are not just sticks. They are the fat, short planks, heavy and thick,” Ittah said.

Ittah’s description matched banned timber blocks that are prone to smuggling. However, until now, canoes had not been known to be used in illicit timber trafficking—at least not publicly.   

Ittah’s story was corroborated by James Banney, a Ghanaian owner of a canoe called Exodus; Praise Jlamontee, an ex-Fanti Town leader; and Zebedee Bowin, a businessman in Buchanan.

Bonwin disclosed that “I used the boat one or two times.” The DayLight has investigated Bonwin before for trafficking chewing sticks to Ghana amid a Liberian moratorium.  

Banney, with a Ghanaian accent like Ittah and Kwakue, revealed that the timber are taken to Takoradi, Ghana’s western region. A person, who did not want to be named, spoke of ferrying wood even to Mali, Guinea and The Gambia.

Timber smuggling is bad news for Liberia, which lost 386,000 hectares of primary forest. That’s a decrease of 8.7 percent of all the country’s humid primary forest, according to Global Forest Watch, which tracks deforestation worldwide.

In 2023, the Associated Press reported that 70 percent of Liberia’s timber exports may have happened outside of the legal channel, citing diplomatic sources. Five years earlier, a report by the Switzerland-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime had listed Liberia as one of the main West African countries for illicit logging.

‘The Lord is my shepherd’

But where in Liberia do the fishermen get the timber from? The DayLight found the answer in Sinoe, River Cess and Grand Bassa, which lost nearly a combined 500,000 hectares of tree cover in the last 22 years, according to Global Forest Watch.  Tree cover loss measures the removal of any woody vegetation at least five meters tall.

Evidence we gathered showed that smugglers transferred timber to Buchanan from Sinoe, River Cess and other places in Bassa. Once on the beach, they are transferred to larger, motorized canoes for at least a six-hour voyage outside Liberia.

In Sinoe, The DayLight interviewed Lama Jalloh, a Greenville resident and a Fulani canoeist, who spoke of a canoe with the service name “The Lord is my Shepherd.” Reporters caught up with the canoe on a Greenville beach, where local fishermen confirmed its suspected smuggling activities.

“Planks and timber are sawn and brought from various parts of Sinoe, and transported to Buchanan,” said Jalloh.

A fisherman who reporters encountered at the Lord is my shepherd canoe said he was not authorized to speak. Similarly, efforts to interview truckers allegedly involved in smuggling did not materialize because service names are unofficial, making tracking their owners difficult. And reporters were unable to get any license plate number.

‘King David’

While Sinoe smugglers used ocean routes to transfer timber, their River Cess counterparts utilize the roads. Earlier in Buchanan, Banney mentioned a place called Waterside in Cestos, River Cess’ capital. Now, reporters visited the seaside community and asked locals whether it was true.

“Yes, trucks can go to the waterfront to take goods and carry them,” said Michael Juludoe, a Cestos gardener, echoing other residents’ comments.  “They pack [sand], sticks and planks.”

Gathering timber in River Cess is the same as in Grand Bassa. Locals and fishermen alike identified a certain truck with the service name “King David” that hauled wood periodically. Also mentioned was another truck with the service name “Nimba Peking,” reporters spotted in a Compound Number Four town.

The DayLight tracked down the truck on the Big Fanti Town beach and Compound Number Four, where reporters videotaped villagers cutting trees.

In the footage, two men justify dealing with smugglers next to tree stumps and timber on the grass-carpeted forest floor. One of the men can be heard saying, “We have to survive.”

This story was a Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ) production. It first appeared in The DayLight and has been published here as part of an editorial collaboration.

GBOR JIMMY TOWN – A community forest in Grand Bassa County bordering Nimba has threatened to stop a logging company’s operation for failing to deliver on development projects, barely two months after protesting for the same reason.

The Grand Bassa District 3 B&C Community Forest has vowed to stop the West Water Group Liberia’s operations for failing to deliver on community projects.

“We will stop their operation until the community gets all its benefits. We will hold onto their machines and prevent them from working,” said Jeremiah Whoe, the community leadership head.

“West Water lied to us. They told us that they would do five hand pumps, 25 market tables, build a junior high school, and maintain the two Bassa-Gio roads in the first five years, but none of those things happened.” 

In April 2021, District 3 B&C Community Forest signed a 15-year logging contract with West Water, a Chinese-owned company. The community leased 24,175 hectares of woodland to West Wood in exchange for hand pumps, roads, and a school.

However, West Water has not lived up to its promises. Four years after signing the contract, it owes the community a substantial amount in land rental, educational benefits and other fees.

By Franklin Nehyalor and Emmanuel Sherman, with The DayLight 

Between April 2021 and now, West Water has only constructed three out of eight hand pumps, according to community leaders. It owes US$4,500 for health and educational benefits, US$17,000 for land rental, and an unknown amount for the timber it harvested.

The planned protest would be the second in about four months.  In March, the community staged a protest, halting West Water’s operations following several failed attempts to get their benefits. The protest ended after county authorities intervened, with the company making new commitments.   

“We are demanding West Water to pay the remaining land rental and cubic meter fees, complete all major projects earmarked, and provide all community benefits before it continues operations here,” said Jeremiah Whoe, the community leader.

Meanwhile, as tension rises against West Water, the Nyuinwein Administrative District Development Association (NADDA), a local pressure group, is threatening court action.

“NADDA intends to push arbitration because the company cannot be trusted,” said Omega Jimmy, an NADDA executive. West Water did not respond to The DayLight’s request for comments.

The District 3B&C-West Water deal is one of the most controversial in forestry. In 2024, a DayLight investigation found it had exported 797 logs that it had illegally harvested.

Exporting timber without community benefits violates the Community Rights Law of 2009 and the Regulation on Forest Fees. The law and the regulation require that communities manage and benefit from forest resources, mandating companies to settle with communities before shipment.

This story was a Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ) production. It first appeared in The DayLight and has been republished here as part of an editorial collaboration.

Monrovia – The suspended Acting Chairman of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA), Abdullah L. Kamara, has broken silence following his suspension by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai.

By Emmanuel Weedee-Conway

Mr. Kamara, who was suspended by President Boakai  last week pending investigation into the General Auditing Commission (GAC) Report, has welcomed a full and transparent investigation into allegations stemming from the recent audit report by the GAC.

In a formal statement, Mr. Kamara maintained his innocence and called on the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to immediately investigate the claims outlined in the GAC’s findings.

“I fully welcome the President’s decision to initiate a transparent investigation into the allegations. Transparency is a cornerstone of good governance and I am prepared to cooperate fully and openly with any and all inquiries. I have absolutely nothing to hide.”

At the center of the controversy is a 2023 contract awarded to Tamma Corporation, a company founded by Mr. Kamara.

The GAC report alleges that the previous LTA Board failed to follow Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC) procedures in awarding the contract. However, Mr. Kamara clarified that the contract was awarded before he assumed leadership of the institution and that he played no role in its approval.

“To be clear, the issue raised by the General Auditing Commission (GAC) concerns a project awarded in 2023—prior to my tenure as Acting Chairman of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA). According to the GAC Report, the previous LTA Board failed to follow Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC) procedures when awarding a contract to Tamma Corporation, a company I founded. It is this compliance issue that has resulted in my name being linked to the matter.”

The suspended LTA boss stressed his belief in due process and urged relevant integrity institutions to act swiftly, stressing that Liberia’s fight against corruption must be impartial, objective, and free of political interference or delay as justice delayed is justice denied.

Throughout his tenure at the LTA, he asserted that he prioritized expanding access to telecommunications and strengthening regulation to benefit all Liberians, particularly the youth.

“My conscience is clear. My public record is opened, verifiable and speaks for itself. My priority now is to clear my name and protect my reputation. I thank President Boakai for his leadership and his demonstrated commitment to accountability. I fully respect the authority of the Executive and the importance of maintaining public trust in our national institutions.”

Mr. Kamara reaffirmed commitment to ensuring that truth, accountability, and justice prevail, not just for the sake of his name, but for the integrity of Liberia’s governance processes.

VAMBO TOWNSHIP – Eleven townspeople have been elected to a community forest leadership in Grand Bassa County, calming months of tension over their towns’ alleged misrepresentation.

By Emmanuel Sherman, with The DayLight 

Mavasagueh Community Forest’s previous election, held in August last year, was marred by irregularities, prompting fresh elections. Those elected include representatives from Boe, Borbor Kaykay, and Togar Towns. Zeogar, the twelfth town, was disqualified because its representative serves as a town chief, debarred from direct community forest activities.

“Now that we have been elected, we will do the proper thing for the affected towns and the Vambo Township,” said Ojuku Kangar, a community assembly representative from Boe Town, one of the 11 elected persons.

Wooded areas get community forest status when they complete nine legal steps, including establishing a governance structure. This structure comprises a day-to-day forest management body, a supervising executive committee, and a topmost decision-making assembly.

“We will form unity with our counterpart as a community assembly to hold the company accountable to our contract,” added Kangar, a DayLight affiliate.  

The election in Mavasagueh has eased tensions in the Compound Number Town area, following months of hostilities. Before the election, townspeople protested for representation in the leadership.  There was an imbalance in the allocation of projects in the 39 towns that own the 26,003-hectare forest.  

The elections could also lead to the unfreezing of the community forest’s account, which was frozen after funds were misapplied. Kangar said more signatories would be added to the account to reflect inclusion. “We will ensure the FDA includes us in the bank account,” he said.  

Citizens blamed the FDA for the chaos. The regulator conducted inadequate awareness, leading to some towns not participating in Mavasagueh’s formation, according to civil society and locals. That finding was corroborated by an investigative series over the last five months.

Daniel Dayougar, the former Vambo Commissioner, was accused of handpicking representatives to serve on Mavasagueh’s assembly. Dayougar denies any wrongdoing.

Amid the chaos, C&C Corporation, the logging company Mavasagueh’s leadership signed a contract with, has been operating. So far, it has paved dirt roads in the area and has harvested logs that are being stored at Krish Veneer Industries, a sawmill in Buchanan, a few miles away.

“All of our logs are taken to Buchanan without benefit. This is what happened during RETCO days until we blocked the roads and chased them out,” said Zechariah Boima, of Togar Town. He was referencing RETCO Liberia Timber Industry, a company that worked here in the 1990s and paid the community L$10,000 (roughly US$90 today).

The FDA did not respond to queries. However, Kangar David, head of the agency’s sub-office in Buchanan, who conducted the election, urged the new leadership to work in Mavasagueh’s interest.

The election is yet another proof of Mavasagueh’s flawed formation. It has already been established that the FDA skipped legal steps in granting it a community forest status. C&C Corporation is illegitimate because its owner, Clarence Massaquoi, is an ineligible logger. Krish Veneer, the company’s buyer, operates on the FDA Managing Director Rudolph Merab’s family land with an ineligible status. The forest overlaps a private land that two men are claiming.

This is a Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists (CoFEJ) production. It first appeared in The DayLight and has been published here as part of an editorial collaboration.

BUCHANAN, Grand Bassa – Over the weekend, Vice President Jeremiah Koung dedicated Krish Veneer Industries, perhaps the largest sawmill in Liberia.

By Emmanuel Sherman, with The DayLight 

Established in 2019, the Indian-owned Krish produces and exports timber, plywood and veneer, a decorated wooden material. It processes between 25,000 and 27,000 cubic meters of wood per year, according to an official environmental audit.

“This is a clear demonstration that India is not only a friend of Liberia in words but in deeds,” Koung told the dedication in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County. He toured the facility before breaking ground.  A crowd of officials, chiefs and elders celebrated the event with workers dressed in protective gear.

“We are happy because these kinds of investments employ our people. If most of the logs can be put into cubes, planks and other things before getting them out of here, there will be job creation,” added Koung.

It might have been Krish’s dedication; however,  the company has been in the news several times over noncompliance with the law.  The DayLight has compiled these well-documented facts about Krish with supporting evidence:

Ghost of ‘Blood Timber’

The location Krish occupies is a symbol of sub-regional wartime atrocities. Between 1991 and 1997, Guus Kouwenhoven, a Dutch gunrunner and eventual war criminal, operated the Timber Management Corporation from there.

Koung referenced the facility in his speech. “I know the TIMCO yard used to be around here where we used to burn coal,” he recalled. “We were those children around here doing the wheelbarrow from here to town to carry the coals.”  

TIMCO’s logs helped fuel the First Liberian Civil War (1989 – 1997). The Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that it and other companies illegally traded arms to Liberian militias and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) of Sierra Leone, leading to mass killings of civilians.  

This became known as “blood timber,” “conflict timber,” and “logs of war.” Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf mentioned it in a recent opinion.

Both Kouwenhoven and his business partner, ex-President Charles Taylor, were convicted of war crimes for their role in the murderous trade. Taylor is serving a 50-year sentence in a British prison. Kouwenhoven, meanwhile, was sentenced to 19 years in absentia by a Dutch court while he lives in South Africa.   

Krish Illegally Operates

Krish is a partnership, not a corporation, as required by the Regulation on Bidder Qualifications and the Public Procurement Concession Act. According to its partnership agreement as of March this year, Antique Ahmed and Kamal Parwini are Indian nationals with 57 percent and 43 percent shares, respectively.

The legal instruments restrict forestry companies to corporations, not partnerships. They are a safeguard against the limited liabilities and lifespans of partnerships, as opposed to corporations.

The Public Procurement and Concession Commission has asked the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) to investigate Krish’s business status, according to a letter, seen by The DayLight.

Furthermore, Krish’s head office is in Buchanan, per its legal documents.  That violates the National Forestry Reform Law, which calls for all sawmills to have their main offices in Monrovia. This rule is consistent with a provision of a repealed law that was used to hold TIMCO accountable in 2005.

Krish Rents from the FDA Boss’ Family   

The land where Krish operates belongs to the family of the FDA Managing Director, Rudolph Merab.  Merab inherited the plot from Rose Hill James, his late mother, who inherited it from Merab’s grandfather.

“Merab is from Bassa, and the property is owned by his grandfather,” said Clarence Massaquoi, Merab’s cousin. “Stephen Hill is managing the property; he is a cousin of Merab’s.

Khalil Haider, another of Merab’s cousins, corroborated that information. “That place is for Merab’s mother and her family,” Haider said.

The two men’s comments are confirmed by an obituary of Edward, Merab’s elder brother, which shows that the FDA’s boss is a member of the Hill family, the property’s original owners.

This establishes that Merab is caught between two interests involving Krish: a landlord and a forestry regulator. Such a clash breaks the Code of Conduct for Public Officials, which prohibits Merab from “situations of conflict that impair, or are likely to impair, the performance of their official duties.”

Krish’s Manager is Merab’s Cousin

Turns out, Clarence Massaquoi is not only Merab’s cousin but also Krish’s manager, according to FDA records.  

Massaquoi is also an ex-employee of Liberia Wood Management Corporation, Merab’s wartime company. “I worked with Merab from 1999 to 2007 in a managerial role,” he told The DayLight in January.

Noteworthy, Massaquoi is ineligible to conduct logging activities in Liberia due to his wartime role. The Regulation on Bidder Qualifications states that wartime loggers must confess their crimes and restitute unpaid or stolen funds, something Massaquoi did not do.  

Krish Benefits from an Unlawful Contract

Krish’s illegal logging love story with Merab and Massaquoi does not end with the pair’s family and work relationships.

Krish does business with C&C Corporation, Massaquoi’s own company. Now C&C has a contract with the Mavasagueh Community Forest, a few miles away from Krish. “I can sell to my plywood factory. My buyers are in Buchanan,” Massaquoi said.

However, C&C’s contract did not follow the law, as the FDA had bypassed legal steps in Mavasagueh’s formation. There are nine steps in the formation of a community forest, characterized by locals’ participation and consent.

In Mavasagueh’s case, some communities adjacent to the forest were left out, there was inadequate awareness, and even people in the communities that the FDA recognized did not participate in the 26,003-hectare forest’s mapping exercise.  

The FDA ignored the issues that actors raised, including the absence of civil society organizations during Mavasagueh’s election, which is a requirement.

Matters worsened when Merab allowed Mavasagueh to overlap private land, violating the Community Rights Regulation. Khalil Haider, Merab’s cousin and Paynesville resident, claims 3,200 acres in Mavasagueh.

Haider, who said he was Massaquoi’s step-brother, revealed Merab encouraged him to drop his claim for the contract to continue. Though Merab ignored The DayLight’s queries for his side of the story, Massaquoi corroborated the claim. “Haider and I settled… so the FDA should let the document be processed,” Massaquoi said.

Krish Exports Illegal Timber

April last year, Krish exported 210 logs (1,243 cubic meters), illegally harvested, to Singapore. LiberTrace, the FDA’s computerized system that tracks timber, had red-flagged the logs, but Merab still approved their shipment.

Out of the 210 logs, 66 had minor issues, including differences between their species, sizes and lengths in the system, and the ones exported. A whopping 144, or nearly 70 percent of the consignment, had major errors. There were 66 of these logs whose harvest had not been approved by the FDA.

Krish exported at least three other times to Singapore and the UAE, with some 20 to 30 percent of the logs illegal.

• FDA Managing Director Rudolph Merab illegally granted Mavasagueh in Compound Number Two, Grand Bassa a community forest status.

By Emmanuel Sherman, with The DayLight

• Merab approved Mavasagueh’s logging contract with C&C Corporation, co-owned and run by Clarence Massaquoi, an ineligible logger.

• Then Khalil Haider, a Duport Road resident, wrote to the FDA to claim 3,200 acres of Mavasagueh.  

• Against the law, Merab encouraged Haider to compromise his claim and bargain with Massaquoi. Another person, Amos Lewis, also wrote Merab, claiming the same land as Haider but his claim has yet to be addressed.

• Amid these issues, Merab approved of Massaquoi’s harvesting, selling timber to Krish Veneer Industries, an illegitimate sawmill located on Merab’s family land in Buchanan.

• But that is just one of the multiple conflicts of interest involving the FDA Managing Director. Turns out, Merab is related to Massaquoi and Haider, likely explaining why he failed to enforce the law.

VAMBO, Grand Bassa County – Everything about this company’s contract with a new community forest is illegal.

And there are lots of problems, too, based on documents and interviews. The Forestry Development Authority skipped several legal steps before granting Mavasagueh a community forest status. Then the FDA approved Mavasagueh’s logging contract with C&C Corporation (CCC) despite the company’s majority shareholder being barred from forestry activities over his wartime activities. The FDA Managing Director, Rudolph Merab, encouraged a man claiming 3,200 acres of Mavasagueh’s 26,003-hectare woodland to unlawfully compromise. Then, a sawmill linked to the company is illegitimate and engages in illegal timber exports.

Now, a DayLight investigation has established that the Mavasagueh-CCC contract constitutes multiple conflicts of interest involving Merab.  The investigation found that Merab is related to CCC’s co-owner, and that the sawmill operates on his family’s property.

These conflicts of interest likely explain why the FDA boss approved CCC’s contract amid the sea of illegalities, ignoring a civil society critique and failing to take any action against the sawmill.

Merab’s conflicts of interest violate the Code of Conduct for Public Officials, a key legislation for the Boakai administration. Merab did not respond to queries on his dual relationship with Massaquoi and other issues in this story.

Merab and a logger

By his admission and LinkedIn profile, CCC’s CEO Clarence Massaquoi, worked with Merab during the second half of the Liberian civil conflict. “I worked with Merab from 1999 to 2007 in a managerial role,” he told The DayLight in January.

Massaquoi’s wartime logging activities disqualify him and the CCC, but the FDA only reviewed the CCC’s financial records, not his wartime activities. War loggers are barred from engaging in forestry unless they confess their roles in Liberia’s bloody conflict (1989 – 2003) and collaborate with the FDA to repay stolen or unpaid funds, according to the Regulation on Bidders Qualification. No wartime logger did that.  

Having known Massaquoi for decades, Merab approved his ex-employee’s contract with Mavasagueh, ignoring calls from a group of civil society organizations to re-demarcate and remap the community forest. A previous DayLight investigation corroborated the finding that the FDA did not raise ample awareness, and that public participation in the process was inadequate. Residents only reviewed Mavasagueh’s contract with CCC some seven months after it was signed, and weeks after Merab approved Massaquoi’s harvesting.

In addition to their wartime association, Merab and Massaquoi are related. Rose James, Merab’s deceased mother, was a Hill. She was related to the Holts, Massaquoi’s maternal family, according to Khalil Haider, a Duport Road resident, who said he was related to both men.

Haider’s late mother, Rosa Dillion, had a relation with the Hills. “My mother and Merab’s mother were cousins, and both families lived separately on Tubman and Church Streets [in Buchanan],” said Haider.

“Massaquoi and Merab are related, and Merab is my cousin. We are all related,” said Haider.

His account is backed by an obituary of Edward Merab, the FDA boss’ late elder brother, who died in the United States in 2020. Another obituary of Sylvia Holt, the matriarch of the Holts, proves that the families are related.

Private land in a community forest

Before CCC began harvesting, Merab received a communication from Haider. In the letter, Haider claimed that he owned 1,295 hectares of Mavasagueh’s 26,003-hectare rocky forestland. The plot is located between Mt. Findley and the St. John River. By that time, CCC’s harvesting had already been approved. Haider had first told the FDA about his claim in 2018.

This was no welcome news for Massaquoi or Merab. The FDA would have to cut off the problematic plot and redo the process, including new mapping, demarcation, and other elements, based on the Community Rights Law Regulation. It could involve coordinating with the Liberia Land Authority and the Ministry of Mines and Energy, a rarity among public institutions. 

As a way to avoid that outcome, Merab encouraged Haider to compromise with Massaquoi to continue the operations, according to Haider and Massaquoi.

“The FDA asked me to see Mr. Haider. I met Haider and we talked,” said Massaquoi in a January interview with The DayLight. “Haider and I settled, and said he would work with the community and me, so the FDA should let the document be processed.”

Haider corroborated that account, disclosing that Massaquoi gave him  US$1,500. “I assisted him when he wanted to go to the hospital,” said Massaquoi, calling Haider his stepbrother.

In an interesting turnaround, Haider now claims that a letter the FDA hinged its authorization of Massaquoi’s operations was forged. “I did not write that letter,” Haider said. “I know nothing about it. “He faked the whole letter and my signature.” Haider has written the FDA another letter requesting a redress after his initial letter went unanswered.

Massaquoi did not reply to questions for comments on the allegation. However, in the January interview, he claimed Haider had instructed him to write the letter on his behalf, which Haider signed.  

Long before this, Amos Lewis, a Marshall, Margibi resident, wrote the FDA, claiming the same land as Haider. Both men’s deeds date back to Tubman’s era. Moreover, and more importantly, Lewis’s claim cements the reality that Mavasagueh overlaps with private land. This proves that the Mavasagueh process was flawed.

A sawmill on Merab’s family plot

Krish Veneer Industries’ operations present another conflict of interest for Merab. The sawmill is situated in Buchanan on a plot belonging to the Hills, Merab’s maternal family.  It is infamous, as the Timber Management Corporation, operated by the Dutchman and eventual war criminal Guus Kowenhoven, occupied the facility between 1991 and 1997, Global Witness reported.

“That place is for Merab’s mother and her family,” Haider said.

“Stephen Hill is managing the property; he is a cousin of Merab, and the plywood factory was there long before Merab,” added Massaquoi. “Merab is from Bassa, and the property is owned by his grandfather,” said Massaquoi.

There is more, though. Massaquoi is also Krish’s general manager, FDA records show. In his January interview, Massaquoi disclosed that Krish was crucial to his operations in Mavasagueh. “I have buyers. I can sell to my plywood factory. My buyers are in Buchanan,” said Massaquoi.

The evidence shows that Merab is caught between his relationships and his duty to enforce forestry laws and regulations. The evidence shows that his relationships are winning the conflicts.

Krish operates as a partnership in breach of the Regulation on Bidder Qualifications. The 2007 regulation states that a sawmill must be a corporation, as a partnership has an unlimited lifespan and liabilities. The provision stemmed from the Public Procurement and Concession Act, carved to safeguard against the government’s revenue loss.

Last year, the FDA authorized Krish to export 210 illegally harvested logs to Singapore. LiberTrace, the system that tracks timber, found that all the logs had issues. Krish made at least three other shipments to that Asian country and the UAE with approximately 20 to 30 percent illegal timber.

FDA Deputy Managing Director for Administration and Finance Victor Kpaiseh told Okay FM that the agency would act. However, some two months later, Krish’s remains a partnership. The Public Procurement and Concession Commission (PPCC), which enforces contracts, has asked the FDA to investigate, according to a letter seen by The DayLight.

Meanwhile, with a workforce of 300 people, Krish is one of the most active companies in a generally quiet industry.  It produces between 25,000 to 27,000 cubic meters per year, according to an official environmental report.   From April and December last year, Krish exported at least 794 logs, even though its products are veneer—a decorated wooden material—and plywood.

Merab’s relationships with Massaquoi, Haider, and Krish, with the string of offences associated with those relationships, break the Code of Conduct. The code prohibits any conflict of interest, defined as “when a public official… exploits a relationship for personal benefit.” It guides government officials against “situations of conflict that impair, or may likely impair, the performance of their duties.

“No public official… should use an official position to pursue private interests that may result in a conflict of interest.”

This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ). It first appeared in The DayLight and has been republished here as part of an editorial collaboration.

MONROVIA – Last November, a Du Port Road resident filed a complaint with the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), claiming a large plot in a Grand Bassa community forest. About a month later, Khalil Haider agreed to bargain with the company contracted for the forest and the townspeople.

By Emmanuel Sherman, with The DayLight 

But in an interesting twist, Mr. Haider now alleges that Clarence Massaquoi, C&C Corporation’s CEO, forged the bargaining letter from which the FDA approved the company’s operations in the Mavasagueh Community Forest. 

“I did not write that letter,” Haider said. “I know nothing about it. “He faked the whole letter and my signature.”

Massaquoi and the FDA did not respond to queries for their side of the story.

Last August, Mavasagueh leased 26,003 hectares of forest to CCC in exchange for development.  The forest is owned by communities across Vambo and Marloi Townships in Grand Bassa County’s Compound Number Two.  

About three months later, Haider wrote the FDA that he owned 3,200 acres of land in the forest. The problematic plot lies between Mt. Findley and the St. John River, presenting a Tubman-era deed seen by The DayLight.

FDA Managing Director Rudolph Merab encouraged Haider to negotiate with Mavasagueh and C&C, according to Haider and Massaquoi. Haider agreed and consented to CCC’s operation, though such a compromise is not backed by law. 

As part of the compromise, Haider requested US$3,500, but Massaquoi gave him US$1,500, which he disclosed was used to settle his hospital bills.

Then something happened. Locals protested for their exclusion from the community forest process, thrusting Mavasagueh under the spotlight. The three-day protest was called off after the police, Representative Clarence Banks of District 2, and county officials intervened.

To understand the problem, Banks secured Haider’s letter, which was sent to the FDA last year. Haider then realized Massaquoi had allegedly written the FDA in his name.  Efforts to reach Banks did not materialize as he is out of Liberia and has not replied to WhatsApp messages.

The controversial letter—obtained by The DayLight—is consistent with a forgery, as it misspells Haider’s full name.

Haider threatened to go to court when he returned from a medical trip. “I will sue C&C [Corporation] for doing this fake thing,” he said.

Haider has rewritten the FDA again on the alleged forgery.

“I am writing you to inquire about the letter that I wrote to you on April 16, 2025, complaining about a fake letter that was given to you by the C&C Corporation claiming that I waived all claims against them,” the letter read.

“I have not received any response from your entity,” added the letter, addressed to Merab.

The forgery allegation is the latest in a series of problems associated with Mavasagueh. Besides, Haider, Amos Lewis, a Marshall resident, claims the same plot as Haider. Mavasagueh was established without the participation of neighboring communities. CCC’s contract was illegally approved because Massaquoi, a wartime logger, is barred from forestry, based on the Regulation on Bidder Qualifications. Krish Veneer Industries, a sawmill in Buchanan to which Massaquoi sells Mavasagueh’s logs, is illegitimate.

By law, the FDA is supposed to halt CCC’s operations and reestablish Mavasagueh, including removing the controversial plot. However, the agency has permitted the contract amid mounting illegalities.  

This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ). It first appeared in The DayLight and has been published here as part of an editorial collaboration.

VAMBO, Grand Bassa – People claiming landowners of a community forest have protested against a company for allegedly sidelining them in a logging contract.     

By Emmanuel Sherman, with The DayLight

The aggrieved citizens of Vambo Township set roadblocks to prevent C&C Corporation (CCC) from transporting logs to Buchanan. Over 10 towns and villages, including Gblorso, Vahzohn, Baryogar, Boe, and Cee, participated in the protest.

“We have decided to set roadblocks because of the mismanagement of our resources without understanding,” said Abel Payway, youth chair.   

“We did not sign the agreement with them, only a few groups of people. They formed a clique and did what they could without consultation with the citizens,” added Payway.

Last year, CCC signed a logging contract with 39 towns and villages adjacent to the Mavasagueh Community Forest, a 26,003-hectare woodland, in exchange for development.

But everything about the deal was illegal. An environmental assessment of the impacts of the CCC’s operation left out 15 towns and villages. Mavasagueh had been illegally established and the company is ineligible for logging activities, a report review found, which a DayLight series corroborated. And some towns had criticized the Mavasagueh process for excluding them.

The protest followed months of failed negotiation. It echoes the illegalities of CCC’s operations and foreshadows likely future hostilities.

Rebecca Gblorso, a middle-aged protester, did not mince her words during a Daylight interview. “The company started extracting our logs without any benefit. They started hauling our logs last week Thursday. We feel bad and angry so we set the roadblock,” Gblorso said.

Jacob Cee, an elder in his late 80s was among the protesters.

“I am here to protect my township. I speak for all my elders, so when something is happening here and is not right I represent my community,” said Cee.

“The protest is a wake-up call for the company to meet our needs,” said Vambo’s Commissioner Nathaniel Clarke.

Daniel Dayougar, Vambo’s ex-commissioner and now CCC’s community liaison officer, refutes the protesters’ claim. “Togar Town is out,” said Dayougar, who is accused of handpicking the forest’s leaders.  

Horace backs Dayougar. “Those towns that did the protest are not within the [contract area].” 

The protest lasted three days and ended when police arrived on the third day.

Misapplication of US$6,000

Clarke and the protesters also demanded accountability for a US$6,000 CCC paid to the community forest leadership. The company had deposited the money into the community’s account.

Askew Varney, CCC’s bush manager, confirmed the company deposited the fund.

“My boss called and said the money given to the community had been mismanaged. I expected the [community leaders to meet] to say, ‘This is what the company has brought to us.’ There is no awareness going on. So, if they are going on with the protest they are right,” Varney said.

But instead of spending the money on community forest guards and health benefits, Mavasagueh’s leaders bought motorbikes and pills, according to Stephen Horace, one of the leaders. Horace said he had not seen the money but confirmed it had been misapplied.  

Last week, at a Buchanan meeting to mediate between the protesters and the company, Representative Clarence Banks of Grand Bassa Electoral District Two and Superintendent Karyou Johnson suspended Mavasagueh’s leadership.

However, Representative Banks and Superintendent Karyou do not have any legal power to suspend the leadership. That power lies in Mavasagueh’s community assembly, its highest decision-maker, and the FDA. The FDA did not immediately respond to queries.

Isaac Tukar, Mavasagueh’s leader, denied any wrongdoing.  “I am not in the know of any suspension,” Tukar said.  “I am in the Guehsuah Section and doing my work.”

Representative Banks, told Okay FM, a DayLight affiliate, Vambo was awaiting the outcome of a three-week ultimatum CCC to address the protesters’ concerns.

“It is my citizens, that closed the roads. Give me three weeks, I will work with the Superintendent,” said Banks. “If the company does not listen to the issues that will be raised, “I will close it down legally.” 

[Additional reporting by Ojuku Kangar]

This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ). It first appeared in The DayLight and has been published here as part of an editorial collaboration.