By: D Abraham Cooper, Sr.| Grand Gedeh county correspondent
Zwedru City, Grand Gedeh |Feb. 18, 2026| Residents of Grand Gedeh County are threatening “unspecified actions” as local outrage boils over regarding a reported 500-acre land grant to Burkinabé nationals.
It can be recalled that on October 18, 2025, Grand Gedeh officials finalized a major thirty-year lease agreement with Burkinabé national Boubou Sebu, securing 500 acreage plot in the B’hai administrative district solely for cocoa farming for USD 600,000.
The growing unrest follows a Rural Reporter Online News investigation alleging that the massive land deal had been orchestrated by Grand Gedeh County Superintendent Alex Grant and the local head of the Liberia Land Authority (LLA), Paye J. Freeman.
Suspensions and Skepticism
While the LLA indefinitely suspended Mr. Freeman in response to the allegations, local citizens remain unsatisfied. Community leaders argue that a single suspension is insufficient while other officials allegedly involved in the transaction remain in their respective positions unscathed with full freedom.
This according to some citizens is unfair and completely unacceptable. They want additional actions taken against all those involved so that such act of attempted wanton abuse of the county’s natural resources won’t recur anymore.
Demands for Intervention
The Grand Gedeh Youth Council and local civil society organizations are calling for an immediate, transparent review of the deal. In a public statement, citizensurged the judiciary and national government to intervene before the situation escalates.
”The suspension of one individual does not address the root of the problem,” a local spokesperson stated. “We demand a timely and transparent resolution. If the government fails to act, we will be forced to take unspecified actions to protect our land.”
The situation remains fluid as residents await a formal response from the central government in Monrovia.
