Cannot read packageName from /***/***/AndroidManifest.xml

I know this question is duplicate and has been asked a lot, I read all the answers from all the questions and none of them worked. I'm trying to build a react native app for release and I get this error

➜  android git:(master) ✗ ./gradlew assembleRelease
> Task :preBuild UP-TO-DATE
> Task :preReleaseBuild UP-TO-DATE
> Task :compileReleaseAidl NO-SOURCE
> Task :compileReleaseRenderscript NO-SOURCE
> Task :checkReleaseManifest UP-TO-DATE
> Task :generateReleaseBuildConfig FAILED

FAILURE: Build failed with an exception.

* What went wrong:
Execution failed for task ':generateReleaseBuildConfig'.
> Cannot read packageName from /run/media/christopher/warzone/projects/mobile/in_development/fundiapp/mobileapp/android/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml

* Try:
Run with --stacktrace option to get the stack trace. Run with --info or --debug option to get more log output. Run with --scan to get full insights.

* Get more help at https://help.gradle.org

BUILD FAILED in 8s
3 actionable tasks: 1 executed, 2 up-to-date

I tried every solution from the questions asked and none of them worked. These are my files

AndroidManifest.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="no"?>
<manifest package="com.mobileapp" xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">

    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION"/>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />

    <application
      android:name=".MainApplication"
      android:label="@string/app_name"
      android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
      android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
      android:allowBackup="false"
      android:theme="@style/AppTheme">

      <meta-data
        android:name="com.google.android.geo.API_KEY"
        android:value="********"/>

        <activity
            android:name=".SplashActivity"
            android:label="@string/app_name"
            android:theme="@style/SplashScreenTheme">
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>

        <activity
            android:name=".MainActivity"
            android:label="@string/app_name"
            android:theme="@style/AppTheme"
            android:screenOrientation="portrait"
            android:configChanges="keyboard|keyboardHidden|orientation|screenSize"
            android:windowSoftInputMode="adjustResize"
            android:exported="true">
        </activity>

      <activity android:name="com.facebook.react.devsupport.DevSettingsActivity" />
    </application>

</manifest>

bild.gradle file

apply plugin: "com.android.application"

import com.android.build.OutputFile

project.ext.react = [
    entryFile: "index.js",
    enableHermes: false,  // clean and rebuild if changing
]

apply from: "../../node_modules/react-native/react.gradle"

def enableSeparateBuildPerCPUArchitecture = false


def enableProguardInReleaseBuilds = false


def jscFlavor = 'org.webkit:android-jsc:+'


def enableHermes = project.ext.react.get("enableHermes", false);

android {
    compileSdkVersion rootProject.ext.compileSdkVersion

    compileOptions {
        sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
        targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
    }

    defaultConfig {
        applicationId "com.mobileapp"
        minSdkVersion rootProject.ext.minSdkVersion
        targetSdkVersion rootProject.ext.targetSdkVersion
        versionCode 1
        versionName "1.0"
    }
    splits {
        abi {
            reset()
            enable enableSeparateBuildPerCPUArchitecture
            universalApk false  // If true, also generate a universal APK
            include "armeabi-v7a", "x86", "arm64-v8a", "x86_64"
        }
    }
    signingConfigs {
        debug {
            storeFile file('*****.keystore')
            storePassword "*****"
            keyAlias "*****"
            keyPassword "*****"
        }
    }
    buildTypes {
        debug {
            signingConfig signingConfigs.debug
        }
        release {
            // Caution! In production, you need to generate your own keystore file.
            // see https://facebook.github.io/react-native/docs/signed-apk-android.
            signingConfig signingConfigs.debug
            minifyEnabled enableProguardInReleaseBuilds
            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile("proguard-android.txt"), "proguard-rules.pro"
        }
    }
    // applicationVariants are e.g. debug, release
    applicationVariants.all { variant ->
        variant.outputs.each { output ->
            // For each separate APK per architecture, set a unique version code as described here:
            // https://developer.android.com/studio/build/configure-apk-splits.html
            def versionCodes = ["armeabi-v7a": 1, "x86": 2, "arm64-v8a": 3, "x86_64": 4]
            def abi = output.getFilter(OutputFile.ABI)
            if (abi != null) {  // null for the universal-debug, universal-release variants
                output.versionCodeOverride =
                        versionCodes.get(abi) * 1048576 + defaultConfig.versionCode
            }

        }
    }
}

dependencies {
    implementation project(':react-native-image-picker')
    implementation project(':react-native-maps')
    implementation fileTree(dir: "libs", include: ["*.jar"])
    implementation "com.facebook.react:react-native:+"  // From node_modules
    implementation project(':lottie-react-native')

    if (enableHermes) {
        def hermesPath = "../../node_modules/hermes-engine/android/";
        debugImplementation files(hermesPath + "hermes-debug.aar")
        releaseImplementation files(hermesPath + "hermes-release.aar")
    } else {
        implementation jscFlavor
    }
}

// Run this once to be able to run the application with BUCK
// puts all compile dependencies into folder libs for BUCK to use
task copyDownloadableDepsToLibs(type: Copy) {
    from configurations.compile
    into 'libs'
}

apply from: file("../../node_modules/@react-native-community/cli-platform-android/native_modules.gradle"); applyNativeModulesAppBuildGradle(project)