Sierra Leone: Timber!
A story of corruption that is stripping the west African country bare.
Illegal logging is laying waste to Sierra Leone’s endangered forests. Despite years of laws and bans, its precious timber is still being exported abroad and unless something is done the country’s woodlands will have been destroyed within a decade. So why can the authorities not do more to stop it?
| Africa belongs to Africans – Sierra Leonean journalist Sorious Samura says timber has become the new diamonds in his country. |
In this edition of Africa Investigates, reporter Sorious Samura exposes the high level corruption that is stripping his homeland bare.
With an undercover team he discovers that an illegal multi-million dollar timber trade is flourishing under the nose of the government and that associates of one of the most powerful politicians in the country are involved.
In response, the government of Sierra Leone has issued a statement promising to investigate the matters raised in this programme.
Watch more Africa Investigates for reports by undercover African journalists who face intimidation, beatings and death threats.