Two Members of Parliament (MPs) are under police investigation over their role in a mob action at Hwidiem in the Ahafo Region that threatened lives and damaged property in a galamsey-related incident.
The MP for Asutifi North, Ebenezer Kwaku Addo, and the MP for Asutifi South, Collins Dauda, are being questioned by the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for interfering with lawful police activity, possible complicity in illegal mining activities, inciting a mob action against law enforcers and other issues.
The Police Administration has consequently launched a special operation to arrest perpetrators of last Saturday’s attack on the Director of Operations of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), Colonel Dominic Buah, and his team at Hwidiem to face the full rigours of the law.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Christian Tetteh Yohuno, in a press statement signed by the Director-General of Public Affairs, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Grace Ansah-Akrofi, directed the CID Headquarters to take over investigations into the attack.
The statement said the MP for Asutifi North, who was alleged to have incited the mob to attack the team and obstruct the NAIMOS activities, had been invited to assist in the police investigation.
Various government channels were unavailable for comment, but the incident involving two MPs on the side of the governing party must have embarrassed the government.
It happened at a time the government had deployed the NAIMOS as one leg of the overall effort to tame the galamsey menace, as pressure mounted from various quarters, including Organised Labour and its affiliates.
Context
Mr Kwaku Addo reportedly led a gang of thugs to attack the NAIMOS team and to free a group of men arrested over illegal mining in the area.
The chaotic scenes, various accounts suggested, reached the point where the NAIMOS team had to be escorted to escape a potential physical mob attack.
In the heat of the exchanges, much of it happening within the precincts of the local police station, the Asutifi North MP is said to have claimed that his Asutifi South counterpart, Mr Dauda, wanted the NAIMOS team to release the persons arrested for illegal mining.
Mr Dauda did not appear at the scene, as he was not in the country at the time of the incident.
Condemnation
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has since condemned the attack on the NAIMOS team.
A press release signed by the Media Relations Officer at the ministry, Paa Kwesi Schandorf, said: "Having been adequately briefed on the matter, the minister strongly condemns the incident".
It said the minister had subsequently held meetings with the Speaker of Parliament and the Minister for the Interior to ensure swift and rigorous investigations into the unfortunate circumstances.
It said the moves were in line with the government's commitment to bring to book all perpetrators who aided, supported or fronted the continuous decimation of the environment.
Incident
The incident occurred last Saturday when an 11-member team of NAIMOS operatives led by Col. Buah embarked on a mission in the area.
Along the Goaso-Hwidiem highway, the team is said to have chanced upon an excavator engaged in illegal mining activity at Bronikrom, a farming community in the Asutifi South District.
The team arrested suspects engaged in the activity as it stormed the site, seized some items from the perpetrators and set ablaze the makeshift structures erected by the illegal miners.
Items retrieved from the site included a side-hang bag containing one Smith and Wesson pistol, two pistol magazines, 21 rounds of nine-millimetre ammunition, a Range Rover, a Toyota RAV4, both unregistered, along with several mobile phones.
The team also seized GH¢11,000 in cash, a power bank system and a Lexus ignition key.
MP’s involvement
The accounts said that while the team was preparing to hand over the suspects to the police at Hwidiem, the MP arrived with a group of men and demanded the release of the suspects.
When Mr Addo's demand was refused by Col. Buah, the group forcibly removed the handcuffs of the suspects and chased the NAIMOS team from the scene.
A mob in their hundreds later besieged the Hwidiem Police Station, demanding the release of the illegal miners and the seized items, including the vehicles.
Amid the chaos, the crowd vandalised the NAIMOS director's vehicle, damaged parts of the police station, and threatened to set it ablaze if their demand was not granted.
Reinforcement arrived from the Ahafo Regional Command, as Chief Superintendent Prince Odom-Koduah, the Ahafo Regional Crime Officer, led a 15-member Regional Task Force to reinforce the local police.
They were supported by the Divisional Commander for Goaso, Superintendent John Atanga; the District Commander for Kenyase, Superintendent Opoku Yamoah, and other senior officers.
Calm was later restored through the joint efforts of the police, the military, and the Zongo Chief of Hwidiem, who is said to have mediated the situation and facilitated the safe evacuation of the NAIMOS team.
Indeed, it was the Zongo Chief who volunteered his vehicle to evacuate the NAIMOS team to safety. That vehicle was, however, damaged during the evacuation process.
Residents’ reaction
When the Daily Graphic spoke to some residents yesterday, they confirmed that calm had returned to the community.
They said they were going about their usual activities without security breaches, explaining that currently, there were no police patrols in the community.
MP's response
Meanwhile, the MP at the centre of the controversy, Kwaku Addo, has denied claims that he incited the youth against the security team and the government’s anti-illegal mining agenda.
"I wish to state that under no circumstances will I incite the youth against security officers and any government-planned agenda.
"As a responsible lawmaker, I offered my support to ensure there is calmness in the area and will always work together with every security agency to maintain law and order," he stated in a press statement.
The statement said it was unfortunate that the police, in their situation report, failed to acknowledge his contribution towards ensuring that calmness prevailed.
It urged the public to disregard the false narratives aimed at tarnishing the MP’s reputation and undermining his efforts to serve his constituents.
"As your Member of Parliament, I want to assure you that I remain committed to the welfare and safety of the Ghanaian citizens and other state institutions," it stated.
Writer's email: biiya.ali@graphic.com.gh
