KILLED! Andrew Donkor
AN ALLEGED confrontation between some police personnel and irate youth of Teleku-Bokazo and Anwia in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region last Friday led to the death of one person.
The scuffle, which happened at the forecourt of the Magistrate Court at Nkroful, the district capital, led to the death of 32-year-old Andrew Donkor.
DAILY GUIDE gathered that the trigger of the incident was that some illegal miners from the two communities were trespassing on a concession belonging to a mining company in the district, Adamus Resources Limited.
The alleged illegal miners were arrested during a swoop by security personnel on Friday and were immediately processed for court.
According to sources, most of the residents who were not enthused about the arrest of their colleagues besieged the court premises in their numbers to purportedly demand the release of the suspects.
A confrontation therefore ensued between the residents and the security, and in the process a gun was fired, allegedly by a security person.
Andrew Donkor, who was one of the five persons who sustained gunshot wounds, was pronounced dead upon arrival at the Ekwei Hospital.
The deceased was married with two children.
Some eyewitnesses’ accounts also had it that some youth of Teleku-Bokazo and Anwia were arrested on the dawn of Friday by some military men sent to protect a mining pit allegedly belonging to the mining company.
Immediately after the arrest, the military handed the alleged galamsey operators to the Esiama Divisional Police Command.
The residents of the two communities later stormed the divisional police headquarters and destroyed some items there, including the windscreens of police vehicles, leading to the shooting incident.
The lifeless body of Andrew Donkor has been deposited at Axim Government Hospital morgue for autopsy.
MP
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for the area, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare to investigate the death of Andrew Donkor and punish the culprits.
In a statement, the MP wished the injured speedy recovery, and called for a thorough investigation by the police to be followed by an independent investigation by CHRAJ.
IGP Storms Ellembelle
Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, on Saturday visited the district to inspect the damage caused to state property, and to discuss how security could be beefed up to forestall future occurrences.
The IGP, who was in the area with some members of the Police Management Board (POMAB) and the Western Regional Police Commander, vowed to bring the perpetrators of the crime to book.
FROM Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi