By Ousman Saidykhan
Minister Rohey John Manjang told the Parliament this afternoon during a question-and-answer session that the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Natural Resources has not yet received the police investigation report into the theft of Kiang Kaif Mahogany trees.
The National Assembly Member for Kiang East, Yaya Gassama, asked the environment minister to provide an update on the status of the investigation into the incident.
Manjang said her Ministry only received an update on November 6 from Lamin Bajo, the Regional Forestry Officer (RFO) for Lower River Region (LRR), that the police officer responsible for putting together the investigation report was not around when he inquired about it.
She quoted the RFO as updating her Ministry through the permanent secretary: “Based on the report shared, I consulted with the CID command, Mr. Saidykhan, at Mansakonko Police Station about the report of the investigation of the Kiang Kaif issue.
“But according to him, the one to draft the report is not around, and he will find out from him how far he is with the report when he resumes office anytime.”
She did not say when or whether her Ministry had followed up, although it has been one month and 12 days since she said the RFO was provided to the Ministry.
According to the Minister, the matter is already in court. “As soon as my ministry receives the police investigation report, a copy shall be made available to this august Assembly,” Manjang said.
The mahogany trees were illegally cut down on the outskirts of Kiang Kaif in May 2024. The environment minister said they were left in the community’s custody three months ago, in September, while answering questions in Parliament.
According to her, the Regional Forestry Officer (RFO) for the Lower River Region informed the Director of Forestry on July 19, 2024, that the two trees had been removed without notice of authority.
She told the Parliament: “The matter was reported to the District Chief, a native of the village and the Alkalo. They helped gather information in the village to determine who was responsible for the unauthorized removal of the mahogany trees.”
The minister said the matter was then reported to the Mansakonko Police Station for further investigation by the Criminal Investigation Division “when the team made no headway. ”
The investigation report has not been completed, as Minister Manjang told the Parliament today.
TAT’s investigative article, written by Kebbe Ansu and published on June 19, 2024, reported allegations of D150,000 being deposited into the minister’s bank account. This amount is reportedly part of a total of D200,000 generated from selling a Mahogany tree on the outskirts of Kiang Kaif.
However, Minister Manjang, the former governor of the Lower River Region, has regarded the allegations as unfounded and decided to take legal action against Alkamba Times.
She also asks the court to order the defendant to remove all statements about the plaintiff’s alleged defamation from social media platforms and grant a perpetual injunction to restrain him from making any further defamatory statements against her, directly or through his agents, associates, and contacts.
TAT had contacted the minister before publishing the investigative piece to ask for her response, but she declined. She only threatened to institute legal actions against anyone who participated in the publication if the medium published the article.
After the article was published, a letter from the minister’s lawyers disputed the allegations. It demanded an apology and retraction from TAT or risk being sued. However, both TAT and the reporter stood their ground and neither apologized nor retracted the article.
Meanwhile, while answering questions at Parliament about the Mahogany trees in September, Minister Manjang said the trees, which had been cut down in May 2024, were left in the community’s custody.
