The NAIMOS-Hwidzem galamsey battle has taken an unexpected turn as anti-illegal mining campaigner and esteemed writer Erastus Asare Donkor has uncovered disturbing details regarding the involvement of the Member of Parliament, Hon. Ebenezer Kwaku Addo.
Erastus asserts that the lawmaker did not only “pass by” the site as was previously stated; rather, he showed up with approximately twenty men and spent hours at the illicit mining site, refusing to comply with the actions of the NAIMOS task group.
Honourable Ebenezer Addo spent hours, not minutes, at the spot, as revealed by Erastus Asare Donkor in an interview; he arrived with approximately twenty men. “It was not an accident—what transpired was planned, purposeful, and terrifying.”
Field police were allegedly impeded during an anti-galamsey operation at Hwidzem, where the MP’s team and NAIMOS operatives violently clashed. The disclosure has heightened emotions around the ongoing probe into this incident.
The presence of the MP, according to sources close to the task force, encouraged the local miners to reject the team’s orders, leading to a tense confrontation that almost resulted in bloodshed.
On the other hand, the lawmaker has vehemently denied any misconduct, stating that his sole intention was to “intervene peacefully” in response to constituent complaints.
Erastus Asare Donkor, on the other hand, presents a totally different image, accusing political meddling, intimidation, and power abuse as the causes that have hampered the country’s efforts to combat unlawful galamsey mining. Critics see this as a further challenge to the government’s dedication to the rule of law and the autonomy of the anti-galamsey task force, and they are calling for an extensive probe of the MP’s actions.
A defiant activist stated, “We have no fight left” if politicians can bring armed supporters onto illicit mining sites and impede national operations. Despite the lack of an official statement from the NAIMOS secretariat, rumours have it that the Attorney General’s office has been informed and could call in important witnesses, such as Erastus Asare Donkor, whose reportage from the scene has stoked popular anger again.
The Hwidzem conflict is clearly becoming more than a regional issue as the topic continues to heat up. All eyes are on it now, as a symbol of the political corruption that is threatening Ghana’s fight against galamsey. The people are waiting to see if justice will win out in the end.
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