Ntonso clashes: Three charged with rioting
Three persons have been charged with rioting with weapons for their involvement in the Monday, July 5 clashes at Ntonso in the Ashanti Region.
They are 20-year-old barber Nantogma Shau; driver’s mate Ernest Boakye, 22; and Kwadwo Manu, 23.
The three are expected to be arraigned on July 7.
Meanwhile, two others have been cautioned and granted police enquiry bail.
The Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Godwin Ahianyo, told the media at a briefing in Kumasi on Tuesday, July 6.
READ ALSO: Kumasi: Six People Injured In Violent Clash
Background
About six people suffered injuries in a fight between some residents of Ntonso in the Kwabre East Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
The clash is said to have started on Sunday evening at a drinking pub known as No Size Pub.
Reports from the area indicated that the violence was renewed on Monday morning (July 5, 2021) when some youth, supposedly from the Zongo community, vandalised shops belonging to others.
They also smashed windscreens and mirrors of vehicles plying the Kumasi-Mampong Road, bringing traffic on that stretch to a halt.
This situation prompted retaliation from those who had perceivably been wronged.
A full-on confrontation then ensued, resulting in the destruction of more properties, including cars.
The Municipal Chief Executive for Kwabre East, Nana Osei Assibey Bonsu, noted that the initial report indicated that the clash was due to a drinking spot operating beyond the mandated hours.
“They started vandalising whatever they saw, hitting some kiosks and whatever they see. They attacked some people from their homes and a lot of things,” he said.
Consequently, some schools in the area were closed, as parents rushed to the Ntonso R/C Primary, a teacher Justina Appia Kubi told the media.
Meanwhile, police have been deployed to ensure that the situation is contained to prevent any further escalation.
Pockets of clashes have been recorded in the Ashanti region in the past two weeks, including bloody confrontations on campus at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the Ejura military shooting.
Pockets of clashes in the Ashanti Region
Pockets of clashes have been recorded in the Ashanti region in the past two weeks, including bloody confrontations on campus at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the Ejura military shooting.
KNUST clash
On Saturday, July 3, 2021, some students of the University Hall (Katanga) and the Unity Hall (Conti) engaged in a free-for-all fight, leaving many badly wounded.
The students attacked each other in a scuffle with broken bottles and other weapons, including machetes, during a screening process for SRC elections.