Tension, fear and panic has gripped Terhe and its surrounding communities in the Ada-West District of the Greater Accra Region, following last Saturday’s burning of the corpse of the Chief of the town, Nene Mensah Zotorvie V.

The clash also saw the murder of Ofosu Sabbah, 40 by the angry mob.

Reports say, while Terhe has virtually been turned into a ghost town, the only Community Basic School in the area has closed down until the fragile security situation normalizes.

The corpse of Nene Zotorvie V was burned to ashes, due to a disagreement over burial space during the final burial rites of the late Chief.

Members of a rival faction, who were opposed to the burial of the late Chief in his residence, attacked the family and mourners with machetes and guns, killing the middle-aged man, and also burnt the remains of the Traditional Chief in an ambulance.

But speaking in an exclusive interview with THE PUBLISHER, the Ada West District Education Director, Cynthia Winifred Aku Gbadago, said the current atmosphere does not guarantee the security of teachers and pupils, hence the decision to close down, for now.

She confirmed that tension was still high in the town, and that all the teachers had fled the community.

DISEC Meeting

The paper is also reliably informed that the District Security Committee (DISEC) on yesterday held an emergency meeting to review the situation at Terhe. According to the District Police Commander, Superintendent George Aboagye, DISEC resolved to offer a 24-hour, 90 days patrol in the community, adding that the surveillance would continue until normalcy returned.

He said DISEC would rely on the media and the use of information vans to assure residents, many of whom had fled, to return since they would have uninterrupted police protection.

Inside Source

The Publisher’s police sources have disclosed that, as part of ongoing investigations, the police on Monday invited a chief from Tamatoku (name withheld) for questioning, but he declined to honour the invitation. As at the time of going to press, he had still not honored the police invitation.

In a related development, Atsu Zotorvi, son of the late Terhe chief, says he is unable to return to the community due to threats on his life.

He told the papaer in an interview from his hideout that six of those trailing him, whom he identified as residents of Tamatoku, Dove, Lawer Kope and Caeser Kope, wanted him dead at all cost because they feared he could disclose their identities to the police.

For his part, the chief of Kubi Kope, Nene Kubi, recalled that he personally drove to the Sege police station to report Saturday’s violence which had then started, but to his surprise the police commander, Superintendent George Aboagye, told him the police could not do anything because the funeral organisers have defied a court order restraining them from burying the dead body in the community.

He claimed he was no longer safe, after the attack on the family of Nene Mensah Zotorvi and the killing of Ofotsu Sabbah.