Investigation: A 2022 government inquiry found senior officials issued land documents that enabled at least 50 luxury homes to be built illegally inside the Western Area Peninsula National Park, a crucial environmental buffer above Freetown. The panel warned that deforestation threatens a reservoir supplying about 90% of the city's water and increases landslide risk. The committee recommended sanctions for Denis Sandy and 16 others, but satellite images and site visits show construction continues and the Anti-Corruption Commission has not yet opened a probe.
Exclusive Investigation: Senior Officials Enabled Luxury Mansions Inside Sierra Leone’s Western Area Peninsula National Park
An aerial view of constructions near Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Western Area Peninsula National Park, Sierra Leone, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — An exclusive government inquiry obtained by The Associated Press and The Gecko Project shows that senior officials issued land documents that enabled scores of luxury homes to be built illegally inside the Western Area Peninsula National Park, a critical forested buffer above the capital.
The probe, commissioned by President Julius Maada Bio in 2022 but never publicly released, found that ministry officials signed transfer letters and land leases that contradicted protections under Sierra Leone’s Forestry Law. Satellite imagery and on-the-ground inspections show at least 50 houses in the Bio Barray neighborhood were built or are under construction on land that was rainforest as recently as 2019.
Environmental And Public Safety Risks
The national park protects steep hills above Freetown and a reservoir that supplies roughly 90% of the city’s water. The investigation warned that the rapid clearing of forest is an “environmental time bomb” that could trigger a water-shortage crisis and increase the danger of deadly landslides. A catastrophic slide on the park’s edge in 2017 killed more than 1,000 people.
What The Inquiry Found
A 13-member committee — including police, lawyers, nonprofit staff and an Anti-Corruption Commission member — reviewed satellite images and official records and reported widespread, indiscriminate forest clearing and unauthorized building inside the park. It identified 876 landowners with claims inside park limits; only 301 provided documentation when asked. The report said Denis Sandy, who was lands minister at the time, signed at least 175 documents granting land leases, a practice the committee called a “flagrant violation.” The panel recommended punitive measures against Sandy and 16 other officials.
Official Response And Ongoing Construction
The committee’s findings were reportedly delivered to the then-chief minister in September 2022. The president’s office later published a photo showing receipt of the findings and pledged action, and President Bio said in mid-2025 that nobody would be above the law for illegally selling state land. Despite these statements, satellite analysis and an AP site visit found construction continuing in Bio Barray; new buildings appeared after the report was handed to the government.
Current Chief Minister David Sengeh said several government bodies had taken steps on the findings but would not disclose Cabinet actions. He suggested the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) should pursue the allegations. ACC head Ben Kaifala told the AP no formal investigation had been opened and that he had not seen the original inquiry’s report; he said the ACC would review and act on it. Other agencies, including the National Protected Area Authority, have either denied knowledge of staff involvement in land sales or claimed encroachment has been halted, though enforcement appears limited.
Accountability And Next Steps
The committee’s recommendations include disciplinary measures for named officials and stronger enforcement to stop further clearing inside the park. The AP identified 46 villas inside the park boundary during its reporting and, in a door-to-door check, found that at least 14 of those owners hold government jobs, according to residents and security staff. Several officials named in the investigation did not respond to requests for comment.
“We will act on it very soon and do whatever is needed to be done,” President Bio said after the report was publicly acknowledged. Yet evidence of continued construction underscores gaps between pledges and enforcement.
The inquiry underscores systemic failures in land management and park protection: conflicting laws and practices, officials who appear to have facilitated or ignored encroachment, and weak follow-through by enforcement and anti-corruption bodies. The situation poses immediate environmental, public-health and safety risks for Freetown and demands transparent, concrete action.
A sign urging protection of the Western Area Peninsula National Park, Sierra Leone, Saturday, July 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
An aerial view of mansions under construction in Bio Barray, outskirt of Freetown, Sierra Leone, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Maada Kpenge, managing director of Guma Valley water company, poses near the water treatment area in Western Area Peninsula National Park, Sierra Leone, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
An aerial view of the Guma Dam, about a mile from Bio Barray in the Western Area Peninsula National Park, Sierra Leone, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Help us improve.
