George Mireku Duker, Tarkwa-Nsuem MP
The Member of Parliament for Tarkwa-Nsuem in the Western Region, George Mireku Duker, has been dissociated from a recent bloody clash between two small-scale mining groups, popularly called “Abolos”, at Bonsa.
There are rumours that Mr Mireku Duker, who doubles as deputy Lands and Natural Resources Minister, incited one of the groups to attack the other group, which is loyal to Okobeng, a popular small-scale miner in his constituency.
According to Emmanuel Kotobabi, one of the miners, the MP never fuelled that clash, as being rumoured, insisting that there is no iota of truth in it.
Clash
At a press conference, Mr Kotobabi said the issue at stake is a criminal one, and should not be politicised by dragging the lawmaker’s name in it.
“People should just allow the law court take its own course. I was at the scene that day, and still fears for my life. As a result of this, I have passionately appealed to the Inspector General of Police to protect me,” he said.
He said the lives of his wife and children were also in danger, and called for police protection for them.
One person died with four others sustaining various degrees of injuries during a clash between the Kotobabi and Okobeng mining groups near the Bonsa toll booth on Thursday March 24.
The deceased, Alhassan Ali, was said to be one of the Kotobabi boys. Ten people have been arrested, and will soon be prosecuted in court. There is still tight security at the mining site which is being contested by the two groups.
Information available to the Daily Statesman indicates that the Okobeng group feels peeved losing a lucrative site to the Kotobabis for community mining. This has resulted in the dispute between the two groups, with Okobeng threatening to hire some thugs to kill the Kotobabi gang.
Meanwhile, the case is pending in court with audio recording as evidence.
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