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- The Chairman of the Liberia Land Authority, Samuel Kpakio, signed a deed for a 500-acre cocoa farmland in Grand Gedeh County, violating a moratorium that President Joseph Boakai pronounced in the State of the Nation Address.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- The transaction was a part of a fraudulent agreement between Grand Gedeh County and a Burkinab\u00e9 cocoa farmer, which, authorities say, has been terminated<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- \u00a0The surveyor who surveyed the land is unauthorized to conduct a government survey. Mr. Kpakio even signed the deed before the surveyor completed his work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- The survey was secretly conducted, and there was no record that the land was put out for competitive bidding as required by law<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- The deed was issued to an unlawful, inexistent recipient \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
MONROVIA \u2013 Over the weekend, the Liberia Land Authority said Grand Gedeh County Superintendent Alex Grant \u201cmisled\u201d it in a fraudulent cocoa farming agreement with a Burkinab\u00e9 businessman. The 30-year deal, worth US$600,000, has been canceled<\/a>, according to county officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Superintendent and the County Land Administrator of Grand Gedeh misled the \u2026 [Land Authority] during the issuance and signing of the said deed, thereby bypassing established procedures and guidelines required for granting a development grant deed,\u201d the Land Authority said in a statement. It provided no evidence to back that claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Land Authority revoked<\/a> the deed and suspended<\/a> two staffers in its Grand Gedeh Office in connection with a deal that targeted 500 acres of ancestral land in the B\u2019hai District. It said it was investigating Paye Freeman, the County Land Administrator, and David Togbasie, Land Dispute Officer. The two men would not speak on the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But a DayLight investigation has uncovered that the Chairman of the Land Authority, Samuel Kpakio, masterminded the deal. Government documents and interviews with officials revealed that Kpakio violated a moratorium to support the agreement. The Land Authority boss utilized an unauthorized surveyor and skipped the legal processes, as mentioned in the weekend press release. The deed was even intended for an unlawful recipient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The DayLight obtained the deed in question for the 500 acres and observed several issues with the document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, Kpakio signed the deed on July 8, 2025, when the moratorium on public land sale was active. \u00a0The moratorium was issued last year and announced by President Joseph Boakai during this year\u2019s State of the Nation Address<\/a>, pending the creation of guidelines to prevent land-grabbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese efforts aim to enhance tenure security, resolve conflicts, and promote sustainable land investment throughout Liberia,\u201d the President said. It was lifted<\/a> on July 31, 2025, twenty-three days after Kpakio signed the deed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Friday\u2019s press release, the Land Authority detailed the accusations against Mr. Grant, citing provisions in the Land Rights Act<\/a> he had allegedly violated. However, the institution glossed over its own actions and inactions, failing to say why it suspended the staffers. This concealed Kpakio\u2019s role in the scandal, while shifting blame to Grant, Freeman, and Togbasie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Freeman and Togbasie\u2019s roles in the scam are unclear, the evidence establishes Mr. Grant\u2019s wrongdoing: not obtaining the community people\u2019s consent. However, Mr. Kpakio\u2019s blame game contradicts his position as head of the Land Authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr. Kpakio is no stranger to land matters.\u00a0 Before being appointed Chairman of the Land Authority, Mr. Kpakio served as director of land use planning and management with \u201cdistinction,\u201d according to the institution\u2019s website<\/a>. Moreover, the Liberia Land Authority was established as a \u201cone-stop shop\u201d for land transactions countrywide, not the Office of the Superintendent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The DayLight caught up with Mr. Grant in Paynesville on Saturday, but he declined an interview. However, he had admitted to his wrongdoing before canceling the agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI regret that the locals were not informed by the district\u2019s authorities. I think is a procedural error,\u201d Grant told a team of reporters in an interview in Zwedru City. \u201cOnce they don\u2019t agree, and we agreed, we can both come to the negotiation table and have a conversation around it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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A copy of a fraudulent deed bearing the signature of the Land Authority\u2019s Chairman, Samuel Kpakio\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Second, The DayLight also observed another irregularity with the deed Kpakio signed that has nothing to do with Grant. David Sluwar, a licensed private surveyor, had surveyed the land and signed the document, a red flag, the surveyor\u2019s roster<\/a> shows. \u00a0A private land surveyor does not survey a government plot; there are 56 government surveyors registered to do this job. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People familiar with public land procedures and processes believe Sluwar played a crucial part in the scandal. \u201cNo government surveyor could have signed that deal,\u201d said one official, who asked not to be named over fear of retribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is another issue regarding Mr. Sluwar, though. Mr. Kpakio signed the deed before the private land surveyor completed the survey, another red flag. The document shows that Mr. Sluwar signed it on July 10, two days after Mr. Kpakio. In normal land transactions, the Chairman of the Land Authority signs a deed after the survey is completed, not before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- The deed was issued to an unlawful, inexistent recipient \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- The survey was secretly conducted, and there was no record that the land was put out for competitive bidding as required by law<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \u00a0The surveyor who surveyed the land is unauthorized to conduct a government survey. Mr. Kpakio even signed the deed before the surveyor completed his work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- The transaction was a part of a fraudulent agreement between Grand Gedeh County and a Burkinab\u00e9 cocoa farmer, which, authorities say, has been terminated<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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