Post a comment 
A suppressed 2022 government investigation obtained by international media has revealed that a serving cabinet minister facilitated massive illegal land grabs inside the Western Area Peninsula National Park, allowing political elites, military generals, and diplomats to build luxury mansions in a protected forest.
The investigative report, exclusively obtained by The Gecko Project and The Associated Press, identifies Dr. Denis Sandy—former Minister of Lands, Housing and Country Planning, and current Minister of Works and Public Assets—as a central figure in the environmental scandal.
According to the leaked document, Dr. Sandy personally signed at least 175 documents illegally granting state land to private individuals within the protected greenbelt.
The epicenter of the encroachment is a rapidly expanding luxury settlement locally dubbed “Bio Barray,” situated dangerously close to the Guma Dam and the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary. The suppressed findings warn that rampant deforestation in the area is an “environmental time bomb” that threatens the structural integrity of the Guma Dam, which provides 90 percent of Freetown’s drinking water. Experts warn a dam failure would be a catastrophic “looming disaster” that could wipe out the settlements below.
Despite President Julius Maada Bio officially receiving the report in late 2023 and publicly vowing to act, the full findings were never published. Construction of the illicit mansions has continued unabated, and no punitive actions have been taken against Dr. Sandy, who was simply reshuffled to another ministerial portfolio.
The investigative committee, which included police, anti-corruption officials, and civil society members, found that Ministry of Lands officials not only permitted the encroachment but actively encouraged and facilitated it for “personal gains.”
A door-to-door survey conducted by international journalists revealed that the properties in Bio Barray belong to some of Sierra Leone’s most powerful figures. Caretakers and security guards confirmed that homeowners include a senior diplomat, a serving army general, a police officer, and officials from the Office of the President, the land ministry, and the Environment Protection Agency.
Many elites allegedly disguised their ownership through proxies. When the investigative committee demanded title deeds from 876 identified landowners in the park, the report noted that “the big boys did not come.” Legal experts confirm that any leases granted by the Ministry of Lands within the national park are entirely invalid under the Forestry Law.
The leaked report explicitly recommended “punitive measures” against Dr. Sandy and 16 other named officials, urging the government to immediately reclaim the occupied greenbelt land.
However, top officials appear to have ignored the findings. Current Chief Minister Dr. David Moinina Sengeh defended the government’s stance, stating that cabinet discussions are private and that the administration does not make decisions “based on accusations only.” Sengeh deflected responsibility to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Yet, ACC Commissioner Ben Kaifala denied ever seeing the report, despite an ACC official sitting on the very committee that drafted it. Kaifala stated he would look into the matter now that it has been brought to his attention, noting that Dr. Sandy is already under investigation for an unrelated case.
Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr dismissed the initial 2022 investigation as a “cynical” PR stunt meant to appease the international community while the government allows its allies to break the law. “They are being given permission, simple,” the Mayor said of the elite encroachers.
Even members of President Bio’s own cabinet acknowledge the damning nature of the findings. Isata Mahoi, current Minister for Gender and Children’s Affairs who served on the investigative committee, stated that Dr. Sandy “definitely have to take the blame,” though she admitted it was “very tricky” to explain why he remains in the government.
Since 2012, a third of the national park’s forest has been destroyed—an area roughly 18 times the size of New York’s Central Park.
Bala Amarasekaran, founder of the internationally renowned Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, warned that the illegal developments are bearing down on the reserve, risking deadly landslides and the complete eradication of wild chimpanzees in the area within five to six years.
“This is not an area you want to poke holes in the hill to build houses,” Amarasekaran warned. “This is like digging graves for our children.”
As Freetown residents continue to grapple with severe water shortages and the traumatic memory of the 2017 mudslide that claimed over 1,000 lives, the revelation that senior government officials actively orchestrated the destruction of the peninsula’s protective forests is likely to spark intense public outrage and renewed demands for accountability
