Wednesday, 03 October 2007
Teleku- Bokazo, a village near Nkroful, the hometown of the first President, Dr.Kwame Nkrumah, is now a ghost town.The residents of the town have deserted the town for fear of a possible police reprisal following an attack on two policemen last Sunday by a group of young men of the town.
Constable Augustine Opoku Agyemang and Lance Corporal Kingsford Appiah, both of the Takoradi Mobile Force, were allegedly attacked and wounded by the group while providing guard to some workers of a gold mining company, Adamus Resources Limited, to convey equipment to their drilling site in the Bokazo area.
The attack was provoked by the local people’s objection to surface mining in the area.
Surface mining is a type of mining by which the soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit are removed. Its large impact on the topography, vegetation, and water resources has made it highly controversial.
It also destroys the fertility of the soil and makes farming unprofitable. The residents prefer underground mining which according to them, does not destroy the soil.
Briefing the Times in a telephone interview yesterday, the Western Regional Deputy Police Commander, ASP Robert Mark Azu, said the two injured policemen were first rushed to the Ekwe Hospital abut later referred to the Axim Hospital.
Lance Corporal Appiah was, however, discharged on Monday.
He said that attacketrs, numbering about 40, allegedly attacked the two policemen and the workers, and in the process the policemen lost their AK 47 riffles.
ASP Azu said Constable Agyemang besides suffering a fracture in one of the arms, also had wounds all over his body while Lance Corporal Appiah lost two teeth.
He said 18 people, including two women, have been arrested by the police and would be put before the court to enable the police to have them remanded while they investigate the matter.
He said there is a reported dispute between the people and the company over the firms operations in the area.
Meanwhile, more than 50 police personnel have been deployed from Takoradi and Axim to the village to maintain law and order.
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