A leading conservation charity that Prince Harry helps run has been accused of operating an armed militia engaged in the beating, rape and torture of indigenous people in Africa.
An investigation by The Mail on Sunday has discovered horrifying evidence of intimidation in the rainforests of the Republic of the Congo by guards managed and paid by the African Parks charity. Prince Harry was its president for six years until elevated to the governing board of directors last year.
The fast-expanding charity, backed by a billionaire who is part of the consortium which owns Chelsea Football Club, manages huge swathes of forests and national parks in 12 African countries in partnerships with governments, and boasts that it saves wildlife by working with local communities.
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Yet the MoS found first-hand testimonies of atrocities inflicted on the Baka, an indigenous people once known as pygmies, to stop them entering forests where they have foraged, fished, hunted and found medicines for millennia.
One man, who claims his head was forced under water while his hands were cuffed and his back whipped repeatedly with a belt, said: ‘Some guards are bad people and their activities should be stopped. What they are doing is cruel and inhumane.’
A community activist told us a Baka man died after being beaten and jailed without getting treatment for his injuries. One woman told of being raped by an armed guard while clinging to her newborn baby. And a teenage boy claimed he was groomed for paid sex by another guard. There are claims that medical staff were subjected to intimidation to cover up abuse.
The raped mother also says she has not received the majority of the £1,300 compensation a court ordered her attacker to pay after he was briefly jailed.
The disturbing revelations – combined with the destruction of a traditional culture and impoverishment of indigenous people – come as Prince Harry is promoting his global mission as a social justice campaigner and fighter for equality.
Last weekend, his leading role with African Parks was championed when he was given a Living Legends of Aviation award as ‘a humanitarian, military veteran and mental wellness advocate’ at a ceremony in Los Angeles. A citation praised him as an ‘environmentalist’, saying he ‘has dedicated his life to advancing causes that he is passionate about and that bring about permanent change for people and places… including African Parks.’
Click here to watch Ian Birrell’s video report from the Congolese jungle
Ella Ene recounted her terrifying ordeal to our reporter Ian Birrell
Prince Harry was the charity’s president for six years until being elevated to the governing board of directors
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But one Baka man who says he witnessed a brutal attack by African Parks guards told the MoS that he wished Harry would use his power to intervene in order to ‘stop the pain and suffering caused to our community’.
Harry, who has said Africa is the place ‘where I feel more like myself than anywhere else in the world’, announced his appointment as president of the charity seven years ago while guest-editing BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. His involvement began with a trip to Malawi to assist an elephant project in 2016 and his role changed last autumn when he joined the charity’s board of directors.
‘What I see in the African Parks model is exactly what conservation should be about – putting people at the heart of the solution,’ he has said. ‘Conservation can only be sustained when people living closest to nature are invested in its preservation.’
When we put the findings of our investigation to Harry, a spokesman for his foundation, Archewell, said: ‘When the Duke became aware of these serious allegations, he immediately escalated them to the CEO and chairman of the board of African Parks, the appropriate people to handle next steps.’
Harry was warned about ‘appalling human rights abuses’ being committed by its rangers in a letter from Survival International, a campaign group fighting for the rights of indigenous people, last May.
The letter stated: ‘The scale and volume of violent intimidation and torture make clear that this is not aberrant behaviour by a few individuals.’ It called on the Prince ‘to use your influence and position to stop these abuses being committed by an organisation to which you have lent your name’ – and was backed by a direct video appeal to Harry and Meghan from a Baka tribesman.
Peter Fearnhead, the chief executive of African Parks who was a guest at Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018, responded to Survival International by insisting the charity had ‘no tolerance for such behaviour’ and took ‘swift action’ against confirmed misconduct by its staff.
The Baka communities live in Odzala-Kokoua National Park, an area of rainforest bigger than Yorkshire that is home to gorillas and forest elephants. One Baka man said: ‘The forest was left to us by our parents and ancestors. Everything we have is found in the forest – our food, our medicine. We suffer so much without it. They are destroying our heritage and our people.’
The park has been managed by African Parks since 2010, when it signed a 25-year deal with the Congolese government.
The charity is funded by the European Union, US and rich philanthropists. It has been given British aid and the People’s Postcode Lottery, based in Edinburgh, has handed it £8.2 million since 2015.
Reporter Ian Birrell with two Baka men who say they were beaten
The revelations highlight tensions in Africa and Asia between the indigenous groups who have cared for forests since dawn of mankind and armed militia run by conservation organisations battling to save the natural world from miners, poachers and loggers.
Survival International first raised concerns 11 years ago to African Parks officials. Its campaign director Fiore Longo said: ‘Conservation areas are war zones for indigenous peoples. These organisations say they are saving nature, but in reality they are overseeing the abuse and destruction of the very people who have looked after these forests for millennia.
‘If Prince Harry and other celebrities really want to save the planet, combat racism, fight for social justice and support human diversity, they should be supporting indigenous peoples. As the Baka put it, this is not conservation, it’s destruction.’
In a statement responding to The Mail of Sunday’s investigation, African Parks said: ‘We have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of abuse and are committed to upholding the rights of local and indigenous people.
‘[We] work closely with the Congolese government, locally-based staff, and indigenous communities on these efforts. We take allegations of human rights abuses very seriously, and always investigate such allegations thoroughly.’
The charity said it had sought to engage with Survival International ‘repeatedly seeking their input in reviewing their claims, which they have refused to provide’.
It added that it had taken ‘active steps’ to address the allegations and appointed an external law firm to ‘assess their veracity’, adding: ‘Any new allegations including those cited in this article will form part of this ongoing review.’