There is no case before me – Judge refuses to hear ‘galamseyers’ case
The Kaneshie District Court has refused to hear the case where 11 illegal miners believed to be National Security operatives were caught mining in the Atewa Forest.
The court presided over by Ama Adomako Kwakye said that the prosecution team had not presented any document from the Attorney General’s office directing that she goes ahead with the case.
Per the charges levelled against the accused persons, there is a need for a written document from the AG’s office.
The 11 suspects have been slapped with possession of firearms without lawful excuse.
“As it stands now, there is no case before me to either rule on a bail application or remand the accused persons,” she stressed.
She, therefore, decided not to rule on a bail application by lawyers for the accused or a request by the prosecution for the accused persons to be remanded.
Some 19 persons alleged to be national security operatives were arrested on March 5, for engaging in illegal mining in the Atewa Forest Reserve.
The suspects clothed in military uniforms reportedly invaded the reserve in Akyem-Akateng in a Toyota Land Cruiser V8 with sophisticated rifles.
According to locals, the team reportedly went to the forest to arrest illegal miners but ended up mining gold instead.
This resulted in a clash as angry residents and forest guards mobilise to apprehend the suspects.
The residents deflated the tires of the vehicles the operatives used for the operation.
Reports suggested that 14 of the suspects claimed to be national security operatives from the Flag Staff House, while the remaining five are said to be locals who guided the team to the illegal mining site.
The suspects were taken to the Asamankese District Police and later to the Eastern Region Police Command.
However, the government released a statement indicating that the culprits were not national security operatives.
“Preliminary investigations conducted by the National Intelligence Bureau revealed that the persons arrested are not staff or operatives of the Ministry of National Security,” a release said.
According to the statement, the suspects named a contract staff of the National Security Ministry as the one who engaged them in the illegal small-scale mining.
“Upon completion of preliminary interrogation, both the arrested persons and their said contractor have all been remanded and are due to be arraigned”, the statement noted.
What necessitated the galamsey fight
Over the years, there have been growing public frustration over efforts to reclaim damaged environments.
Polluted water bodies like River Pra are still looking brownish with residues of cyanide.
Some areas of the country initially covered by thick vegetation have become bare.
The NPP government launched Operation Vanguard in 2017 to reclaim mining zones from environmental degradation caused by illegal mining.
President Nana Akufo-Addo made the fight against illegal mining one of the key objectives of his government.
“I have said it in the Cabinet, and perhaps this is the first time I am making this public, that I am prepared to put my Presidency on the line on this matter,” he said in 2017.
The government set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).
A nationwide ban on small-scale mining and illegal mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey’, followed.
After four years, the government is under pressure to highlight the positives following several scandals.
There is an increasing perception that politicians are neck-deep in illegal mining and are frustrating the fight.
Even the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining has not been free from scandals.
Its secretary, Charles Bissue, resigned after an undercover investigation implicated him.
The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service concluded in their report that Mr Bissue did not circumvent laid down processes.
This was after President Akufo-Addo called for a probe into the matter following a documentary by investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas.