In Ghana, independent investigation demanded over Manso Keniago clashes
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on MyJoyOnline and Ghanaian Times
Kenneth Ashigbey, convenor of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining, backs calls for an independent investigation into the clash between the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) and residents of Manso Keniago in the Ashanti Region. He wants to establish who owns the excavator at the centre of the dispute, according to MyJoyOnline.
The toll from the 11 November clash at Manso Keniago, in the Amansie South district, remains unclear: at least three deaths have been confirmed, although six deaths had been reported on 12 November. The Secretariat says two of its personnel were shot and three civilians, not yet identified, were killed. Residents explain that the team wanted to move the equipment along a tarmac road rather than on a low-bed trailer, for fear of damaging it.
The chief of Dome Keniago, Nana Obeng Mensah Ababio, reportedly was attacked while trying to intervene. Speaking from a hiding place, he says his life was threatened and that the officers fired in the air to disperse the crowd. Charles Oduro, district councillor for the Dome Keniago electoral area, has also fled for his safety and confirms multiple gunshots, making movement dangerous in the village. Traditional leaders have gone into hiding.
Kenneth Ashigbey considers it useful to determine what triggered the clash and why residents opposed the removal of the equipment. He also proposes examining the marks recorded on the ground to reconstruct the sequence of events, and doubts that the team was really trying to load the excavator onto a low-bed trailer. Lastly, he asks whether influential people in the locality wanted to prevent its removal. While not condoning the death or killing of anyone, he warns against threats against the officers, whom he describes as the last line of defence against illegal miners.
Residents have called on President John Dramani Mahama, the Inspector-General of Police and other state authorities to immediately open an independent investigation. The Secretariat strongly condemns the attack and warns against any obstruction of its officers in the performance of their duties.
