Former forestry officer of the sparsely and thinly-forested Lower River Region (LRR) Mr. Lamin Bajo has been detailing how Gambia’s environment minister Rohey John-Manjang allegedly got enmeshed in the Kiang Kaif Timber Scandal and how she and the incumbent governor of LRR Seedy Lamin Bah were allegedly aiding and abetting the destruction of LRR forests for political expediency.
Below is the transcript of Mr. Bajo’s interview with Membekering:
When I left the West Coast as a regional forestry officer, they took me to LRR. I went [to LRR] with the overriding aim of redoubling the gains I made in the West Coast and North Bank until such time that the forest would be liberated [from plunderers].
When I was posted to LRR, the issue there was not only about tree felling. The timber logs found in there were not logged in Casamance. They were from the villages. But the issue was that charcoal burning was rampant in all the places [in LRR]. The most dangerous aspect of it all was the annual bushfires. That should not happen.
That is not good for the forest and our survival. So, my first plan was to embark on disarmament. This did not actually entail that there were armed people in the forest because even me, I used to be armed with only my mobile phone and note book. But how would we disarm those involved in tree felling, charcoal production and bushfires and investigate and prosecute them? If that measure was used against one or two people and publicized, it [destruction of the forest] would stop. Even if it did not stop, it would reduce significantly.
I cannot be there [in LRR] for one month without taking a step,but you must assess the situation of every place that you go and as I said, we work in tandem with the area council, governor, and police. So, when I went there [LRR], I realized that it was only through collaboration that I could succeed in my job. I went to the regional governor and told him that we all had the same objective and that we are all from Kiang and LRR, but if what I observed here was not reversed, we would all have our reputation harmed as smoke from charcoal burning has been enveloping everywhere, trees were been felled and bushfires been ignited everywhere and no one was ever prosecuted, which was why it [deforestation] would never stop.
Do you know his [governor Bah] response at that moment? Do you know what he told me? He told me that if I didn’t act on offenders, he would act on me. We discussed that we would devise a strategy and that was to raid the charcoal producers and confiscate the charcoal they produce and then take them to court so that the raid can present double losses to them as a deterrent. The governor himself advised us to write a request to the police and when we did, the police said they had no issue with the matter because we all have an equal stake in the job.
They asked us to alert them whenever the raid would be launched so that they could deploy officers and that was exactly how they did it. When we raided with the paramilitary, everybody put in the work the same effort and the way we carried charcoal bags along was the way the paramilitaries were also doing it. They [officers] encountered all the difficulties that we went through until sunset. However, as the last tractor load [of charcoal]was entering our camp, we received a call from the governor, saying that all the seized charcoal must be returned to those it was confiscated from.
I asked him why and he said he told the minister [environment minister Rohey John-Manjang] about the issue and that the minister said the charcoal must be returned to the people it was confiscated from. I am just repeating what he [governor Bah] said. And he indicated to me that if I tarried in returning the charcoal, even my director would call me. Not long, the director called and this was when I attested to the fact that Seedy Lamin has done what he said he would do. What all these people requested from me was let the charcoal be returned.
My reply was that I would never return it and none of my subordinates would ever return it, I didn’t say it shall not be returned but none of us involved in its seizure shall return it. Now, what they did was that they were calling the Alkalolu on the phone to tell their people to inform those in their villages from whom charcoal was seized by the forestry [department], to come collect it. This was very painful, you worked hard, yet you see the offender walking under your eyes, uttering any word that he wishes and retrieving that item [charcoal]. Whichever village they [offenders] passed through, they would boast that they have taken their…
Kaif Timber Scandal
A tree was illegally felled in Kiang Kaif. I received a tipoff from one Bakary Fatty. I called the ACH to deploy there and confiscate the chainsaws used and take their details and when I came over, I would take them [offenders] to court. As I hung up the phone, the governor called and indicated to me whether I was aware of what was happening at Kaif and that his wish was to take the felled tree to his office. I panicked straightaway when he told me this because he knew I wouldn’t grant him his wish, that part I would never obey. I said to myself maybe he was trying to play a joke on me, but I was not in the mood for a joke. I told him it was not possible, I hung up. The same thing happened when I arrived home and I said this was what he had in mind.
The same governor, who gave the order for the charcoal to be returned, was the same governor who said he wished to have the timber at his office. For what purpose? I knew we would not see eye to eye on that and that was why I followed the chain of command to let my director be aware of the situation so that he could ensure the minister was made aware of it so that they could talk to the governor to allow us to do our job. Let him [governor] be just on the sidelines and empower us.
I called the director [of forestry] and later his deputy Malang Jassey and informed him of the illegal tree felling [in Kaif], the seizure of the chainsaws and our plan to prosecute the culprits. Malang promised that somebody was going to call me from the ministry. I later received a call, thinking that it would be the DPS or PS, but the one that called was the minister herself, who asked me about the situation and I explained to her that we arrested some people for illegal tree felling and that we have seized their chainsaw and would start legal proceedings against them the next day. She told me to wait and she would call the governor and get back to me. At that point in time, I thought I would now work freely. She called me and told me she had advised the governor and he would never interfere in my work again.
We were feeling assured that we could now do our job freely. Instantly, we called the [district] chief to set a date for the trial of these people and he complied. When the date for the trial came, the accused persons were present.
They were prosecuted fairly and adequately fined.
The first question that the minister [Rohey John-Manjang] asked me when she assured me that the governor would not interfere with my job was about the number of trees seized and their market value. I told her that legally, each should be sold at D20,000, big or small. She gave me the good advice that those who felled the trees should not buy them.
She told me she would find a client to buy the trees and her statement was repeated at the police, PMO,PSC and all is penned down on paper.
I told her [minister Manjang] to direct the buyers to me and the following day, somebody came to my office and said he was directed there by one Lamin Jassey to inspect the trees felled in Kaif. I told him that I didn’t have the fuel to go there[Kaif] and it was the minister herself who later called to ask about what I said was the issue and I responded that if at all these people were here to inspect those trees, I don’t have fuel for that. She told me to tell them to go to Sambujang in Jarra Soma to fuel the car. It was my driver, another staff member called Kemo and my junior called Sanna, who boarded the vehicle to Sambujang. He fuelled the vehicle D1000 to be able to drive to Kaif. I told my guys to just point the trees to them when they reach Kaif because seeing cannot be beyond the eyes. They never returned to me to say they were going, but I said fine since they claimed that it was Lamin Jassey, who directed them to me, maybe Jassey will come when it’s time to sell the trees. That was around Asr time only for me to receive a call from my subordinate in Kaif that some people were working on the confiscated felled trees and that villagers came out in protest and if I didn’t go there, injuries might be sustained.
When my subordinates confiscated the chainsaws from those working on the trees, the governor enquired about whether it was me who gave the orders and when I said yes, he said “please, return them to them.” In less than 10 minutes, the chief of Kaif called to ask whether I was still having issues with the chainsaw owners and I responded in the affirmative. He told me to return their chainsaws and in less than 10 minutes, the director called. I then realised that this was a merry-go-round. I then told the director I would return the chainsaws, but not the trees.
To be continued…
