“Those of us there were more than 300. When the soldiers came they came to park their vehicles. And the commander stepped back to receive a call. During that time, our leaders were on their knees, pleading with them. After the call, he corked his gun and opened fire on us. The shot for almost 30 minutes,” he said.
At least eight of the miners have been confirmed dead while several others sustained varied degrees of injury to their arms, chest, legs and other body parts.
“What wrong have we done AGA? We are living in our own town but you’re denying us food and now you are killing us. Everyone finds livelihood from the community they live in, and so must we. We didn’t go to where the company is working. We went to an abandoned site,” Baba continued.
The Ghana Armed Forces, in a statement, indicated they returned fire in self-defence when the illegal miners fired at their troops on duty.
The irate miners, in retaliation, hit the principal streets of the town and set ablaze four vehicles of sub-contractors of the mine of which one crashed into a nearby shop and torched properties.
“We couldn’t salvage anything. It was only yesterday that my sister restocked the shop. Over 30,000 cedis worth of items,” Santewaa, the affected owner of the shop said.
She sold various items including groceries and stationery amongst others.
For residents in the town, despite the security deployment, they believe a continuous presence of a military base could reduce the seemingly rampant altercations.
“We do not know what has happened in Tutuka. A little movement, and then everyone begins to run away”. Kojo, a resident, said.
His neighbour, Aduruwaa added: “It’s scary living here now. I woke up at dawn and all of a sudden I am confronted with this. You can’t have peace of mind here”.
Both private and public schools in both Obuasi and Obuasi East municipalities have been temporarily closed down amidst the escalations.
Students and teachers of these schools have been asked to stay home for two days until tempers are calmed.
Director of Education in the Obuasi Municipality, George Koomson indicated the move was necessary to protect the school children.
“We can’t guarantee the safety of both learners and teachers, so we’ve agreed that for tomorrow [Monday] and possibly Tuesday, we will not be going to school. The contact hours will be missed and recouping the lost hours will be difficult,” he said.
The mining company has also instituted a raft of measures to safeguard their workers including asking them to avoid official uniforms and any items that associate them to the company.
2024 NDC Parliamentary Candidate for the Obuasi East constituency, Samuel Aboagye assured the miners of seeking answers to the military’s action and bringing the perpetrators to book.
“We will get the details into this. As to who ordered the military to open fire. Nobody is above the laws of the country even if you’re in uniform,” he said.
Meanwhile, President Mahama has directed AGA to absorb the medical costs of the injured persons as it sets out to investigate circumstances leading to the tragic incident.
Source: Richard Nana Appiah Kubi/Ahotoronline.com
