MONROVIA — The Liberian Investigator's review of the controversial land deed issued by the Liberia Land Authority's chairman to the Grand Gedeh Local Government Reserved Farmland shows it was clandestinely assigned to two different owners at once.
The July 8, 2025, development grant deed, personally signed by LLA Chairman Samuel F. Kpakio, designates the Grand Gedeh Local Government Reserved Farmland as the recipient of 931.4 acres of forestland in the B'hai Administrative District. However, within the same document, in the covenant clause that establishes ownership, Kpakio states that he has "good right and lawful authority to convey the aforesaid premises to the said Moore Agro Inc., or its successor in business."
Legal analysts who helped The Liberian Investigator examine the document described the contradiction as "fatal," "fraudulent," and "impossible under Liberian law." A deed cannot name two different grantees. Once it does, they explained, it becomes voidable and raises immediate red flags about whether the document was structured to conceal the true intended beneficiary.
"Two grantees in one deed is not a mistake. It is a signature of fraud," the lawyer told The Liberian Investigator. "Someone was being hidden."
Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines
The deed lies at the center of a land scandal involving a controversial 500-acre agreement with a Burkinabé national, rising security tensions in the forested border region, a presidential moratorium on public land that appears to have been deliberately defied, and what experts now say was an unlawful attempt by the LLA chairman to revoke a probated deed, something only a court can legally do.
Presidential mandate defied
President Joseph Nyuma Boakai placed a freeze on all public land transactions on Feb. 3, 2025. That moratorium remained active until July 31, 2025. Yet Chairman Kpakio signed the deed on July 8, nearly a month before the freeze was lifted.
"That signature violates a presidential mandate and renders the deed illegal on arrival," the lawyer said. "Any deed processed during a moratorium is automatically suspect."
The July 8 signature not only violates the moratorium, it strengthens the suspicion that haste and secrecy were intentional.
A Development Grant Wrongly Used on Customary Land
Development grant deeds are intended for foreign institutions, philanthropic organizations, and business entities that cannot directly own land but may be granted rights to use land for development purposes. They are not designed for customary communities, which already hold land under the Land Rights Act of 2018.
However, the deed Kpakio signed claims to "grant" land to the Grand Gedeh Local Government Reserved Farmland -- a customary landholding. Community advocates say that move appears to be an attempt to reclassify community-owned forest as government-controlled land, allowing third-party leasing without the people's knowledge.
Community Was Never Consulted
Under Article 34 of the Land Rights Act, any transaction involving customary land requires full community participation, including identification, apportionment, mapping, and approval, and must be signed off through Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. But residents say they were completely excluded.
Town Chief Moses Tahyor said he first heard on the radio that their land had been leased for 500 acres of cocoa cultivation. Women's leader Mary Shon expressed shock that no meeting was ever held. Youth leader Harrison Farley warned that the deal threatens land belonging to more than a dozen towns and will inevitably cause future conflict.
Across the district, the sentiment is uniform: the community was bypassed entirely.
The Community Land Development and Management Committee, the body mandated to represent locals in land matters, was also ignored. The survey was conducted secretly, in violation of the Community Self-Identification guidelines that govern customary land formalization.
Procedural Manipulation
Further examination shows layers of procedural fraud.
Surveyor David W. Sluwar signed the deed on July 10, two days after the Chairman. Legally, the surveyor must authenticate the land first; the Chairman signs last. Sluwar is also a private surveyor, not an official government surveyor assigned to authenticate public land documents. No public land deed should bear the signature of a private surveyor, the legal examiner for The Liberian Investigator noted.
Additionally, the deed was signed only by the Chairman. LLA regulations mandate signatures from two commissioners along with the chairperson for all public and customary land documents. That safeguard was overlooked.
The deed also shows no evidence of vetting by the LLA's Vetting Section, a mandatory checkpoint meant to prevent fraud.
Probate Court Allegedly Misled
Advocates in Grand Gedeh allege that Chairman Kpakio misled the Probate Court judge and clerk to have the flawed deed probated. Under Liberian law, once a deed is probated, it becomes a judicial instrument. The LLA cannot revoke it.
But on October 30, 2025, under pressure from rising community anger, Kpakio announced that the LLA had "revoked" the deed. Legal experts say the announcement was meaningless and unlawful.
"The LLA has zero authority to revoke a probated deed," a senior land-law expert said. "The cancellation of a deed is a judicial function. It must begin at the Civil Law Court and end at the Probate Court. Anything outside of that is illegal."
The LLA simultaneously suspended the Grand Gedeh County Land Administrator and Land Dispute Officer and dismissed four staff members for unrelated administrative violations. Critics say this move was meant to divert public attention away from the Chairman's own actions.
Escalating Conflict on the Ground
The scandal unfolds as tensions among Burkinabé farmers in the Gboryeazon forest grow more volatile. On Aug. 12, 2025, police arrested a Burkinabé migrant named Noufou and fifteen others after violent clashes with a rival group led by farmer Ali Kabore. Several injuries were reported, and some victims were taken to Côte d'Ivoire for treatment.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Police commander ACP Moses Gberyan said the dispute stems from undemarcated farmland and repeated warnings to the LLA to intervene. "Most of the farmland they are arguing over is not demarcated," he said.
The Forestry Development Authority warns of widespread illegal clearing, burning and chemical use. Immigration authorities say an estimated 48,000 Burkinabé farmers are registered in the region, intensifying pressure on the land and the local population.
Solicitor General Cllr. Augustine Fayia recently described the situation as a "national security concern."
Locals Vow Resistance
Superintendent Alex C. Grant said the 500-acre agreement with Burkinabé investor Boubou Sebu was legal, beneficial, and structured to generate US$600,000 over 30 years. He argued that the land had been declared eminent domain in 2023 and that formalizing Sebu's occupation was necessary to prevent conflict.
But citizens, chiefs and women's groups rejected that defense, saying the land belongs to them and their consent was never sought. "We will resist this deal to the last," said General Town Chief Sam Nah. Women's leader Josephine Mcee said losing the forest will doom their children's future.
LLA Gives No Answers
The Liberian Investigator sent detailed questions to Chairman Kpakio and LLA Communications Director Kwashie Tetteh, asking them to explain the double-owner deed, the moratorium violation, the private surveyor, the missing signatures, and the attempt to revoke a probated deed. Neither responded.
