By D Abraham Cooper Sr
Two villages in Grand Gedeh, Juluzon and Jarwondee are said to have engaged in fist fight over land matters. The incident occurred yesterday, July 30, 2025. Nine foreign nationals believed to be Bourkinabes were also arrested when police responded to the conflict scene. Four of those arrested are from Juluzon and five from Jarwondee. One motorcycle and network receiver in Jarwondee were damaged as a result of the conflict.
The conflict between the two towns was a result of the alleged encroachment on forest land for cocoa farming, community members told the Liberia Forest Media Watch (LFMW). The dispute between the two villages dates back to 2021, when the Bourkinabes were first spotted in the nearby bushes. Since then, community members say, there has been tension between residents of the two sisterly communities.
The ongoing land/forest encroachment in Liberia for cocoa farming by foreign nationals has claimed the attention of both national and international groups. In April 2024, an Ivorian-based civil society group, IDEF published an Independent Cocoa Observer Report, title “ALERT ON THE SUPPLY OF CACAO FROM LIBERIA”. In that report, IDEF said since 2020, a village in Liberia has welcomed and provided forest plots to 48 people from Ivory Coast. In total, the IDEF report said 3 Liberian villages-Yargbeken, Touwloken, and Partaken accounted for 183 foreign cocoa smallholders, including around 60 for the period from December 2023 to January 2024 alone.
But the presence of these foreign nationals on the Liberian soil has not come without the corresponding consequences of conflict among communities in Liberia. Town chief of Juluzon, George Satue said the case has been forwarded to court on several occasions, in which Juluzon community was declared winner. Following the case, report says tension between the two towns still continue, prompting the Liberia Land Authority to place a stay order on all activities in the forest.
A recent ruling by Judge George Wah of the Seventh Judiciary Circuit court declared the land as community property and handed the matter back to local authorities. “This land our people turned it over to us before they died and we been working there for long time and no problem, but because Burkinabee people come here with plenty money so they bringing fighting among us”, Town Chief George Satue said.
James Togba, a prominent son of Juluzon, is sounding a serious alarm on the ongoing land crisis. According to him since 2021, the land dispute has led to prohibition of farming and deaths of people from the both towns.
James Togba is calling on the Superintendent, youth leaders, and civil society organizations to launch public education campaigns on land rights and demarcation laws to prevent future conflict.
A local Juluzon landowner explained that he has spent eight years battling encroachment on his family’s land. But recently, he said seven people were arrested following an on-site investigation, but violations continue. Efforts to begin joint demarcation were rejected by the opposing parties both of whom are claiming ownership of the land, the landowner has said.
The City Mayor of Jarwondee, Arthur J. Satoe disclosed that the local leaders are working to resolve the deep-rooted land conflict between the families. But neither of the groups holds legal deeds.
Mayor Satoe said he along with civil society groups, formed a Peace Mediation Committee. The committee, the mayor said confirmed with the knowledge of the elders that the land had long ago been given to the people of Jarwondee.
The mayor narrated that tension reached a boiling point recently with the arrest of nine boys during a dispute over land demarcation. Jarwondee residents rejected the proposed demarcation point, demanding it be shifted to a different location. The Town Chief expressed frustration with governance delay into the situation.
He also accused an individual only identify as Nathaniel of undermining peace efforts by ignoring tradition and involving outsiders. Community elders are now urging a return to traditional methods and full respect for local customs.
As community members struggle to curtail the encroachment on their lands, deforestation form cocoa farming continues to grow. This is happening due to the demand of the high price on the Liberia cocoa. Report from withing the Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA) currently sets the price for grade A cocoa at $6.64 USD, grade B at $5.35 USD, and grade C at $4.00 USD. Whereas in Ivory Coast and Guinea, the price is between $3.35 and $3.85 USD and $3.03 USD to $3.85USD respectively, according to CNBC Africa
But the high value price of the Liberian cocoa has not come without the corresponding consequences of deforestation and environmental degradation. IDEF reported that between 2001 and 2022, Liberia lost 2.2 million hectares of vegetation cover, equivalent to a 23% decrease in vegetation cover since 2000. In 2022 alone, the country lost 150,000 hectares of natural forest (Global Forest Watch).
The forest menace in Liberia is heightened by the influx of foreign nationals, mainly Borukinabes in search of forest land for cocoa farming. And Grand Gedeh County remains the epic center for the forest menace, where brothers and siters are fighting each other and sharing their lands with foreign nationals for what they termed as economic benefits.
