What followed next was a series of accusations, each more bizarre than the one before. A group called the Citizens of Butaw Residing in Monrovia issued a statement that said arrested villagers had “revealed tales of torture.” The next day, a man named Dennis Jabbah, a self-described community representative, wrote that the riot had in fact been masterminded by Brownell himself, who had not visited the community in over a year. The Butaw Welfare and Development Association, or BWDA, responded that Brownell could not visit them due to an assassination attempt in 2014 by GVL security and that Jabbah’s claims were influenced by monthly stipends he received from the company.

“Golden Veroleum is a country by itself,” wrote Saydee Monboe, the spokesman of the BWDA. “They control the police. They control our lawmakers. They control some of the local chiefs and they are the Republic of Golden Veroleum.”

GVL responded that it “reserve[d] the right to pursue legal avenues.” It characterized the alleged assassination attempt against Brownell as “highly inflammatory and nonsensical” and challenged the role of the lawyer in the dispute, noting that “A-Bloteh itself decided to engage GVL directly, without their lawyer,” from September 2013 onward.

The strategy of all parties has been to discredit the authority of their opponent to act on behalf of the community. It’s a reasonable approach, given that much of the RSPO process unfolds through highly orchestrated meetings between communities and investors, at which a few elected individuals represent the interests of the many. Discrediting the authority of someone to speak can remove that person from the negotiating process altogether. The complaint against GVL has always been challenging, but according to Krishnan, “This incident,” meaning the riot, “has made things more complex than ever before.”

'If you look at the history of Malaysia, the alleviation of poverty has a direct link with the rise of palm oil in the region.'

—Ravin Krishnan, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil

The only person whose authority has not been called into question is Manewah’s. Almost all of the correspondence regarding the riot and its immediate aftermath notes that Manewah was not involved. Yet his name remained on the writ of arrest, in which GVL is listed as the plaintiff.

According to Manewah, both government officials and company representatives have encouraged A-Bloteh to stop working with Brownell “because he is creating a deadlock.” But they need a lawyer’s help, explains Manewah. In Liberia, Brownell is a controversial character. But removing him would leave the community without legal representation. “If Alfred Brownell doesn’t appear here, how will we understand the situation?”

If it were true that the government and the company are encouraging the community not to work with Brownell, says Krishnan, it would violate the principles of the RSPO: “The community is under an obligation to get independent legal advice.” But, he cautions, the truth in these situations can be hard to ascertain. “It depends on who you are talking to.”

Krishnan acknowledges that in Liberia, palm oil plantations have not been universally welcomed. “Some people are for it, some are against it,” he says. “But if you look at the history of Malaysia, the alleviation of poverty has a direct link with the rise of palm oil in the region.” The people who are establishing these plantations, he says, hope to repeat that in Liberia.