Government: Prosecution of illegal miners under way

The government has begun to prosecute individual suspected to have engaged in illegal mining activities in the country, otherwise known as “galamsey”.

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister of Information, said that so far there are five separate cases facing different levels of state prosecution in court. These cases are not exhaustive, he said, and the Attorney General’s Office is preparing documents for more state-level prosecutions of individuals who have flouted Ghana’s mining laws.

However, providing details on the ongoing court cases, he said: “The first is The Republic versus George Asante and 31 others. In this case, the earlier report that came out was that some National Security operatives have been arrested engaging in illegal mining elsewhere. It turns out that these persons are not National Security operatives.

“The accused persons on 11 May 2021 were arraigned before the Koforidua Circuit Court B on provisional charges, namely two counts of conspiracy to commit crime – that is reconnaissance for mines minerals and reconnaissance for mines minerals without lawful authority. The accused persons were arrested by the town folks, if you remember,” he said.

The second case, Oppong Nkrumah said, is The Republic versus Yang Maoji, a Chinese national who was arrested for mining illegally in the Pra River. He was arrested by the Operation Halt team while on routine patrol. The third is The Republic versus Wei Gan and another. This involves two miners, both Chinese nationals, arrested in Atieku near Tarkwa in the Amenfi West District.

Another case before the courts, he said, is The Republic versus Xue Linhua and two others. This involves two Chinese nationals and a Ghanaian who were mining illegally in forest reserves. The illegal miners were arrested in Enchie in the Western Region.

The last case, Nkrumah said, is The Republic versus Xue Linhua and five others. This involves six Chinese nationals who were arrested in Asankragua by National Security operatives. The miners have been arraigned before the Kaneshie District Court on provisional charges, including six counts of possession of firearms without lawful excuse.

Operation Halt II

Meanwhile, the Ghana Armed Forces have begun phase four of Operation Halt II.

This will focus on removing all individuals and logistics involved in mining from the Ankobra River, its tributaries and surrounding forest reserves.

Providing updates on the operation, the Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, said that the government has deployed 401 men of all ranks from the armed forces and the sister security apparatus to rid Ghana’s forest reserves and waterbodies of illegal mining activity.

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