An article published on the website farmlandgrab.org(author: Willy Makumi Motosia), on July 07, 2022 falsely and libelously reports on an event that occurred in Lokutu, Democratic Republic of Congo, on June 26, 2022, to the detriment and violation of the rights of Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC) and its leadership.
On the aforementioned date, on the edge of the company's Lokutu plantation in the Bolembo division, a PHC security team discovered seven tons of oil palm fruit bunches, fraudulently cut by people outside the company. The security team appealed to the Congolese National Police to recover these fruits. During the recovery, about ten people, including Mr. Chimita Lofinda, all armed with machetes and firearms, attacked the PHC security team and the police that were accompanying them.
During this attack, six members of the PHC security team were injured by the attackers and taken to the hospital.
Due to the use of firearms by the attackers, the police called in reinforcements from a unit of the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) to control the situation. Mr. Chimita Lofinda was arrested by the Congolese National Police. Once at the police station, Mr. Lofinda complained of being unwell and was transferred by the police to the PHC hospital where he was treated. On the night of June 30, 2022, Mr. Lofinda escaped from the hospital, and he is currently wanted by the police.
PHC filed a complaint against Mr. Lofinda for assault and battery.
Relating this incident in an article in the July 07, 2022 edition of the newspaper l'Avenir, which was then republished on the farmlandgrab.org website, Mr. Willy Makumi Motosia claimed that " a team of industrial guards (GI), G4S, and the police went down to the Bolembo division a few meters from the Yambienene village in the MWINGI group, where they mutilated the private parts of the named Chimita Lofinda ».
This assertion is entirely and intentionally false, because neither the official report of his arrest by the police, nor the medical examination which was carried out upon his arrival at the hospital, indicate any damage to Mr. Lofinda's private parts.
The second part of the article quotes a statement by Mr. Jean-François Mombia Atuku, activist and Chairman of the Board of Directors of RIAO-RDC in these terms: “ Jean-François Mombia Atuku deplores the fact that in the case of 'Huileries et Plantations du Congo' (PHC in acronym), (…) the Congolese State has managed to endorse the management of this company by Monique GIESKES, convicted in justice, "
This statement is totally false because Mrs. Monique Gieskes has never been convicted, and this in any country. The legal action to which Mr. Mombia Atuku refers is still ongoing and the initial investigation was requested by Mrs. Monique Gieskes herself.
The same article insists, lamenting that " the ministry of the portfolio has accepted in the board of directors the appointment of a Director General (of PHC) whose criminal record is tainted by a criminal conviction for embezzlement of funds ". This statement is again libelous because the criminal record of the Director General of PHC is not tainted with any conviction.
Similarly, it is incorrect to link this alleged condemnation to the departure of several Development Banks. The aforementioned Development Banks issued a joint press release that captures the true facts of their debt sale, available at this link. In this press release published on the website www.bio-invest.be, these institutions recognize that “ PHC, the former subsidiary of Feronia Inc., has been brought back from the brink. (…) the company's ability to employ thousands of people has therefore improved considerably."
PHC confirmed its commitment to the principles of good environmental and social governance, and assured the local communities with which it is engaged that it will continue to pursue all the mediation processes begun with the local communities. The new momentum of positive engagement with the communities is already bearing fruit with the acceleration of the implementation of social clauses between PHC and the communities, the construction of schools and health centers, the rehabilitation of employee houses, and taking on the direct management of its hospitals to ensure an adequate supply of food products and medical services.
PHC also expanded its Community Development Program in 2022, adding to the more than $10 million already invested in critical housing, transportation, health and education infrastructure. PHC is also committed to supporting the Program for Seed Production for Quality Food Crops (Programme de production de semences de cultures vivrières de qualité ) in order to contribute to food security and the creation of opportunities to improve the well-being of Congolese populations.
PHC strongly condemns the gross misrepresentation of the facts relating to the incident of June 26, 2022 as presented in the article written by Mr. Willy Makumi Motosia, and with reference to the statements of Mr. Jean François Mombia Atuku of RIAO-RDC.
PHC is appalled that the FARMLANDGRAB.ORG website, operated by GRAIN, has not taken care to check the facts published on its website to ensure the accuracy of this information.
It calls on the managers of this website to put in place appropriate verification systems to prevent the future dissemination of false information.
This negligence is all the more incomprehensible since FARMLANDGRAB has just published a right of reply in favor of PHC, from which it follows that Mr. MOMBIA's allegations are not in accordance with the truth.
PHC will take legal action for libel against the authors of these false accusations, as well as against the platforms that published them.