The armed soldiers and the youth of Manso Tontokrom
DRAMA UNFOLDED when heavily armed military men were prevented from entering a mining concession in Manso Tontokrom in the Amansie South District of the Ashanti Region over the weekend.
The soldiers, who were said to be numbering about 50, reportedly, had been engaged by a mining firm in the community to forcibly expel the Tontokrom youth, who are miners, from the said mining concession.
But to the surprise of the soldiers, they were met at the outskirts of Tontokrom township by a heavy resistance force from the charged youth, who were ready to prevent the soldiers from entering their concession.
Singing war songs, amid threats of bloodbath, the agitated youth blocked the main road to their concession with the burning of car tyres, a provocative action which prevented the soldiers from entering their concession.
In the face of this provocative act, the armed soldiers, however, exercised patience and professionalism as they did not fire a single bullet. The soldiers patiently pulled back to avert a possible bloody scene.
Previous Clashes
There are media reports that a similar clash between soldiers and the Tontokrom youth in 2024 over the same mining concession, unfortunately, led to the loss of lives.
Certainly, the solders wanted to prevent a repeat of the bloody situation, hence their decision not to fire a single bullet even when the charged youth burnt car tyres to block them from entering their mining concession.
Tontokrom Youth Statement
Meanwhile, Richmond Osei, who claimed to be the leader of the Tontokrom youth, reportedly, told the media that the youth have mined on the concession in contention for decades, so they won’t lose it now.
He stated that the Tontokrom people are not engaging in illegal mining but rather operating small scale mining, which is permissible by law, adding that they would not cede an inch of their concession to a mining firm, owned by foreigners.
According to Osei, the mining firm, which engaged the soldiers to expel them from their concession, had been mining in Tontokrom for decades but have not contributed to the development of the community, hence the local people are fed up.
He claimed that the Tontokrom community has been impoverished for so many years as their energetic youth, including graduates, remain jobless, stressing that the concession is now their only hope for survival.
Osei appealed passionately to the government and relevant authorities, to settle the impasse between the youth and the soldiers, stressing that the youth would never give their concession to the mining firm.
Curses With Schnapps, Eggs
In a related development, there are reports that some of the angry youth of Tontokrom during the heat of their encounter with the soldiers, openly used schnapps, fowl and eggs to invoke curses on those who engaged the soldiers to sack them from their concession.
According to the youth, they are being maltreated unjustifiably on their own lands, which was bequeathed to them by their forefathers because they don’t have power, so the river deities in their area should fight and ensure justice for them.
Meanwhile, the paper has been reliably informed that peace has returned to Tontokrom, as the armed soldiers have peacefully left the community, thereby ensuring that the people go about their daily activities in peace.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah, Kumasi