10-Month Baby Detained In Denkyira Breman!-After Perseus Mining And Its Employer Used Police To Abuse Lactating Mother And Three Others; But company denies allegations

The anger of the residents, most of whom are cocoa farmers whose farmlands were being taken for mining activities, follows alleged brutalities by workers of the Adio-Mabas Ghana Limited and PMGL with the tacit support of police officers from Diaso Police Station on a mother and her three daughters of which one is breastfeeding a 10-month-old baby.

       

The chilling ordeal of the mother, Madam Agnes Arkoh (aka Ama Asantewaa), and three of her daughters: Abena Fosua, the lactating mother, Abena Darkuaa, and Akosua Nimo, who are all farmers in the town, occurred on Tuesday, March 15, 2022.

The soireenews.com gathered that the four were arrested by the police at Diaso and detained for several hours on the said Tuesday.

Shockingly, the 10-month-old baby girl of Abena Fosua was not spared by the police. The baby was detained for one-and-a-half hours, a situation that left the child at the mercy of mosquito bites. 

However, as of the time of filing, this report,soireenews.com learned that the child has been seriously taken ill. 

Narrating their ordeal via a telephone call to soireenews.com, the mother of the three daughters (Madam Agnes Arkoh) said on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, she and her daughters were arrested and detained by the Diaso police till the morning of Wednesday, March 16, 2022, for no apparent reason.

She alleged that their arrest was on the orders of management of Adio-Mabas Ghana Limited and PMGL who are prospecting for gold in Denkyira Breman.

She said in the course of attacks by workers of the two companies, one of her daughters, Eno Nimo, fell on a sharp cutlass which inflicted serious wounds on her body.

Madam Agnes Arkoh noted that Eno Nimo was later given a police health form to go for medical treatment at the Dominase Hospital. 

The police health form was given to her daughter after she had been granted police inquiry bail together, she told DAILY Analyst.

According to Madam Agnes Arkoh, the incident happened after they questioned workers of the two companies on why they were drilling parts of their farmland which was not part of Adio-Mabas’ concession.

This was at a time Madam Agnes Arkoh together with her daughters had planted some cassava sticks on their farm. 

She continued that their presence on their land angered the workers at the site who allegedly used brute force to enter the farm and started destroying their crops.

“So myself and my resisted the workers who later got more furious and manhandled us and later reported us to the police at Diaso,” she narrated.

According to Madam Agnes Arkoh, following the report to the police by the workers of the two companies, they were arrested around 5:00 p.m., on Tuesday, March 15, 2022,

“We were detained till Wednesday, March 16, 2022, including one of my daughters who is breasting a 10-month-old baby,” she said. 

But when soireenews.com reached via mobile phone the Senior Community Relations Officer of Perseus Mining Ghana Limited, Mr. Emmanuel Armah, confirmed the arrest of the four women, alleging that his outfit complained after their workers were insulted and assaulted while carrying out drilling and exploration works on site.

He also denied the claim that his company’s workers forcibly entered into the farmland of the four women, asserting that the said farmland was part of the Adio-Mabas concession.

Mr. Armah also refuted the assertion by the farmers that Adio-Mabas and Perseus were using the police to harass farmers on their lands.

He explained that the land in question was part of Adio-Mabas’ concession and compensation has duly been paid to the landowner, Mr. Kwadwo Konadu, who is the husband of Madam Agnes Arkoh.

"I am aware the area was a galamsey devastated area and too muddy when we wanted to drill. So it was difficult for the excavators to go there. So we even had to pay compensation to get laterite to fill the muddy area before the excavator could go there and work.”

Again, he indicated that it was not true that the landowner, Mr. Kwadwo Konadu’s, consent was not sought.

He said the consent of Mr. Konadu was sought after duly paying him compensation who in turn gave them the authority to work

“…so in the course doing the work, " was informed that the man's wife came there on Monday (March 15, 2022,) with her daughters to confront the workers and even insulted the workers."

He continued that after following up on the matter, “I heard that on Tuesday (March 16, 2022,) that woman (referring to Madam Agnes Arkoh), the landowner’s wife and her two children went there to assault our people”  

"Apparently what happened was that the woman and her children had planted cassava sticks at where they wanted to fill with the materials for the excavators to have access to the land to do drilling works. 

…apparently, what happened was that they had planted cassava sticks where we were filling with the materials so that the rigging machine can be there. But the workers realized the women had gone back to put cassava sticks where they were filling. 

…so the following day when they went, they were astonished and then removed those cassava sticks,” Mr. Armah said.

     

On the issue of one of the women falling on a cutlass, he replied: “l don't know the details."

Furthermore, Mr. Armah suggested to this reporter to visit the site and ascertain for himself the facts of the matter, cautioning that both parties could be feeding him with wrong information.

A security officer of Adio-Mabas Ghana Limited, Mr. Habib Anmed, also refuted the claim that their workers assaulted Madam Agnes Arkoh and her three children.

Rather, he blamed the woman and her children for doing wrong things, alleging that they even slapped Mr. Solomon Quaye and Mr. Yaw Boadi who are both workers on the day the incident happened.

He said his company cannot enter into farmlands without the consent of the owners of the lands.

Interestingly when soireenews.com called Mr. Kwadwo Konadu (the husband of Madam Agnes Arkoh,) via phone, he debunked the allegation that he was consulted or paid any compensation on the land by the company.

"I swear my Lord that none of the management of the company has asked for my consent before entering into my land and that what Mr. Emmanuel Armah is saying l don't even know anything about it," he emphasized.

Meanwhile, information available to this paper indicates that Madam Agnes Arkoh and her daughters are not the only farmers who have suffered alleged brutalities at the hands of the two mining companies.

Scores of farmers in Denkyira Breman who spoke to soireenews.com accused workers of the two companies of using the police to protect the thee the t drilling and exploration works of its workers on their farmlands.

The farmers pointed out that there were indications that the workers with the tacit support of the police in Diaso and Dunkwa Police Division were bent on going ahead with their exploration activities without the consent of the farmers, contrary to mining and exploration rules of engagement.

"We have not entered into any agreement with the so-called Perseus Mining Ghana Limited or Adio-Mabas Ghana Limited who is currently claiming to be the concession owner of  a large stretch of our area which covers our farmlands.”

“…We the people in Breman are farmers who engage in the production of food crops such as maize, cocoyam, cassava, and cocoa. But what we are seeing often is workers of Perseus Mining Ghana Limited forcibly entering our farmlands and constructing roads through them to drill and explore our lands for gold which activities are threatening our natural resources and vast arable lands,” they indicated.

"In Breman, cocoa farming is our business. And it is through that we can finance our children's education. We are an agrarian community and we want to remain as farmers, hence Breman is opposed to any form of gold mining even if the company is issued with the necessary mining permit," they asserted.

Consequently, the farmers called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to intervene in the ongoing exploration activities of Perseus Mining Ghana Company Limited which were destroying peoples’ farms.

They also appealed to the Inspector General Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Damper, to immediately call to order police officers at Diaso Police Station and the Dunkwa Divisional Police Commander, accusing the police officers of the two police stations of imposing the company on them.

They cited a recent threat issued on them by a senior police officer after the officer had invited them to Dunkwa Divisional Police Station for a meeting to find out about their response to the exploration activities being carried out by the company on their farmlands Breman.

At the said meeting, the farmers stated that the police officer made it clear to them by asserting that "we would find every means and ways to ensure that the company mines gold on your farmlands even when you [the farmers and the residents] do not agree with the company."

They noted that the company brushed aside their decision to the effect that they were not ready to give out their only fertile agricultural lands to them to mine gold. 

Instead, the company, through some clandestine means, entered into their lands and started doing exploration. They stated that the action of the company was completely a breach of the provision of the Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703).

"We are saying that we are not ready to give our lands to any mining company to mine gold. Although this company, together with one Tweneboah Kwabena, have entered into our farmlands to prospect for gold, we the majority of Breman farmers are saying a big no to any gold mining activities,” they stressed