3 Kids Drown In Galamsey Pits
* Source: Daily Guide


THREE CHILDREN, two of them cousins, drowned in galamsey pits full of water at Akrokerri in the Adansi North District and Atabrakoso in the Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region on Thursday evening.

The victims, Paa Kow, 12, and Kwadwo Nkansah, nine, both class-one pupils of Akrokerri Practice School, were cousins, while Ebenezer Asiedu, an 18-year-old boy, completed Padmod Junior High School at Obuasi only this year.

Paa Kow and his cousin Nkansah had gone to the mining area, which was close to their house, to scoop some water from the pit when the younger one fell into the deep galamsey pit, DAILY GUIDE gathered.

Paa Kow then jumped into the pit to save Kwadwo Nkansah, but both drowned, some residents narrated.

According to them, the pit was dug by some illegal miners in the community, to prospect for gold some years ago, and had since been abandoned, collecting volumes of water which the galamseyers used to wash their body after work.

Father of one of the kids, Kwame Ku, 42, told the paper he was in his brother’s home around 6:30pm, after buying a drug from a chemical shop, when the news of the children’s death got to him.

According to him, he, together with his brother, ran quickly to the galamsey site where they found the bodies of Paa Kow and Nkansah which had been taken out of the pit.

“We got a report from the community that two of my children who are cousins had drowned in a galamsey pit, but I just accepted this as a pure tragic accident because I don’t know the one who found their bodies in the pit and how they were recovered,” he noted.

He however said he suspected foul play in the sudden death of the two kids, asking the police to investigate all angles of the case to answer lingering questions the family had.

Mother of one of the children, Adwoa Asantewaa, who was yet to come to terms with the incident, said one moment she saw Kow and Nkansah eating fufu together and the next, she heard about their sudden death.

The bodies of the two kids had since been deposited at the Obuasi Government Hospital, awaiting autopsy.

Ebenezer Asiedu, the 18-year-old JHS leaver, also got drowned in a galamsey pit at Atabrakoso, a village near Jacobu in the Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region.

He had wanted to swim after working as a galamsey operator for some Chinese nationals in the area when he met his untimely death.

Father of the victim, Isaac Asiedu, who confirmed the incident to DAILY GUIDE, said Ebenezer’s body had been deposited at a hospital morgue at Jacobu after it was recovered by the police.

According to him, the tragedy occurred on Thursday around 4:30pm.

The boy was working as a galamsey operator to earn income, save and further his education, having completed JHS this year.


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Hohoe clashes: Police failed to act on intelligence - Torgbui Gaabusu
* Joy Online


The traditional ruler of the Gbi Traditional Area, Torgbui Gaabusu has fingered the Police in the communal clashes that erupted at Hohoe last week.

He said if the Police had acted on the intelligence they received the clashes would have been averted.

Torgbui Gaabusu was addressing a delegation of chiefs led by the Awormefia, Torgbui Sri III of Anlo who called on him to assess the impact of the clashes and ways of finding lasting peace in the area.

Torgbui Gaabusu added that what happened was not a religious conflict but rather a display of insubordination and disrespect to authority.

He further revealed that it was the police that shot and killed two of the residents of Hohoe.

According to Torgui Gaabusu, the residents of the Zongo community have co-habited with the people of Gbi Traditional Area for over 200 years and that he was in the process of co-opting them into Gbi Traditional Council.

Torgbui Sri III asked the people to take advantage of the yet to be established fact finding committee and voice out their opinions. He asked them to be mindful of the laws and abide by it.

He also called on the residents of the Zongo community to see themselves as natives of Gbi and live together in peace.

Meanwhile, a delegation of chiefs led by the Okusie Akyem Foli from the Avetime Traditional Area has been sent to the Zongo community as a measure of promoting peace between the two feuding factions.

Dr. Bernard Glover, Volta regional representative of the Council of State who visited the Zongo community said conflict should never be an option in addressing dispute.

He reminded the youth that their forefathers have co-existed with the Gbis for years hence there is the need to emulate them.


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Police Recruitment Fraud - Three Busted
* Daily Graphic


Three members of a police recruitment syndicate were arrested at the Police Hospital where they had met to supervise the medical screening of 105 of their prospective recruits between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Saturday.

The three — Inspector Senyo Ameyaw, a laboratory technician at the Police Hospital; Faustina Kuma, a civilian employee at the Police Headquarters, and Sylvanus Kuma, a National Security Secretariat operative — were arrested at the Police Hospital where the 105 prospective recruits had gathered to undergo the medical screening as part of the recruitment process.

The prospective recruits were also arrested to assist in investigations.

So far, GH¢81,275 has been retrieved from Faustina and Inspector Ameyaw. A number of laboratory test request forms for “Special Examination” have also been retrieved.

The operation was ordered by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, after he had received information that prospective recruits were being charged between GH¢1,000 and GH¢2,500.

All the suspects are currently in various police cells pending further investigations.

The Commissioner of Police (COP) in charge of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Mr Prosper Agblor, told graphic.com.gh that the IGP received information from sections of the public that a syndicate was recruiting young men and women into the Police Service for a fee of between GH¢1,000 and GH¢2,500.

He said the information also indicated that the prospective recruits were often taken to the Police Hospital at midnight for medical screening.

Mr Agblor said the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPS) was notified to conduct discreet investigations to establish the existence of the syndicate and help apprehend the suspects.

According to him, after several weeks of underground investigations, the PIPS had a tip off that the next batch of recruits was due for medical screening at the Police Hospital at midnight on Saturday, June 16, 2012.

He said with the help of other police personnel, the 105 prospective recruits who turned up for the medical examination and the three main suspects were rounded up about 2:30 a.m.

Mr Agblor wondered how any medical examination would be conducted under the cover of darkness if, indeed, it was a genuine exercise.

He said investigations were still ongoing and gave an assurance that anyone found culpable would be dealt with according to the laws of the land.


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2 Nabbed Over Hohoe Arson Attack
* Daily Guide


The police in Hohoe have arrested two persons believed to be involved in clashes that erupted last week in Hohoe.

The two, whose identities have been withheld for security reasons, are currently assisting the police in their investigations.

According to reports monitored on Accra-based Joy FM, the arrests were made known during a meeting of the Municipal Chief Executive and the Volta Regional Police Commander, DCOP Alex Bedie.

Attempts to reach DCOP Bedie proved futile as the person who answered his phone said, “Commander is in a meeting”. Other calls made to his phone were not answered as at press time yesterday.

Meanwhile, the planned procession by Togbega Gabusu and his sub-chiefs through the Hohoe township last Saturday could not come on as announced.

The procession, which was to end at the house of Togbega Gabusu, would have also covered the Zongo community and other affected areas of last Monday’s clashes.

The procession, according to the Gbi Traditional Council, was to send a strong signal to the Zongo community that Togbega was in charge, assess the extent of damage in the Hohoe Township, particularly Togbega’s house and also stamp his authority in the area.

The Gbi youth, who had earlier in the morning started gearing up for the procession amidst singing and chanting, last Saturday morning, were somewhat unhappy about the cancellation of the procession allegedly on the orders of the regional minister. Many of them gathered in small groups, discussing the cancellation as chiefs and elders tried to explain the development to them.

According to the GNA, Togbe Adzima V of Gbi Abansi explained that the tour was called off based on intelligence reports that the environment was not conducive for the procession.

The youth also expressed worry over the extension of the 48-hour ultimatum to the Zongo community to return the Gbi state regalia, but Togbe Adzima appealed to them to exercise restraint.

Meanwhile, a delegation of chiefs led by the Awormefia of the Anlo State, Torgbui Sri III, yesterday stormed Hohoe to also take part in the peace process.

Torgbui Sri III sympathized with the feuding parties for their loss and stated that peace was the only way forward.

The Awomefia commended the Gbi Traditional Council for the maturity with which it was handling the situation.

He also commended the security personnel for a job well done. Bernard Glover, a member of the Council of State, was also part of the delegation.

Torgbega Gabusu partially blamed the police for the clashes in Hohoe, adding that if they had been proactive to intelligence reports, the skirmishes would not have happened.

He added it was not the wish of the Gbis or any particular group of people to engage in conflicts and therefore it was significant for all to ensure peace to make way for accelerated development.

In a related development, reports reaching DAILY GUIDE indicate that residents who fled the Hohoe Zongo community for fear of their lives were reluctant to return despite many assurances by several personalities to return home.

Although a few of them were trickling in, majority of them were still not ready to return.

Some also visited Hohoe daily to find out how the situation was.

One of such persons, Musah, told DAILY GUIDE that “the life of my family is important and so I have to be sure Zongo and Hohoe is safe before we return.”

DAILY GUIDE’s interaction with some of the refugees in Jasikan revealed that most of them were waiting for total calm to return and the curfew in Hohoe lifted before they returned. Hamzo Bukari noted, “Life is only one and that me and my little sister will return after we are sure that we will be safe.”

Over 6000 people, mostly women and children, are believed to have fled Hohoe to seek refuge in Kpando, Jasikan, Kadjebi and the Biakoye districts of the Volta Region.

Most of them are living in mosques or with friends and relatives in communities within the various districts.


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Asiedu-Nketia advocates positive defiance against Rawlingses
* Source: Joy Online


The General Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress, Johnson Asiedu-Nketia has admonished party faithfuls who believe in the principles of June 4 to positively defy any suggestion by the Rawlingses which will send the NDC into opposition.

According to Mr Asiedu-Nketiah utterances and recent actions of the party's founder, former President Jerry John Rawlings, and wife Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, have one consequence for the party – leading it back to opposition.

He noted that one of the principles of the June 4 Revolution is “positive defiance”, saying it was, therefore, prudent for all to uphold that principle and act accordingly.

The party’s General Secretary made these remarks when he commissioned the Upper West Regional Women’s Wing office over the weekend.

He recounted that persons who worked with former President Rawlings and the wife, were taught positive defiance as one of the principal tenets in the formation of the party. Positive defiance is when one becomes bold and stands up against bad policies or orders of his or her leaders without any malice, Asiedu-Nketia explained.

He reminded members that the NDC had no time to waste on settling scores at various levels of the party, insisting that if the party spent its time settling disputes, their opponents would be on the field campaigning.

He said the leader of the 31st December Women’s Movement could not fly when she competed with President Mills for the flagbearership position, making it impossible, he said, for Mrs Rawlings to lead the party in the 2012 elections.

He therefore called on all to bury the hatchet and support Prof. Mills’ second term bid.

He counseled Mrs Rawlings to bide her time and throw her weight behind President Mills for victory 2012.

Insulting president Mills would not win vote for the NDC, he maintained.