14 workers at Gomoa Fetteh salt company attacked by gun-wielding land guards

Fear and panic gripped residents of Gomoa Fetteh in the Gomoa East District of the Central Region on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, when some 'notorious' land guards in the area inflicted weapon wounds on some workers of a mining company there. The gun-wielding men are alleged to have been hired by some self-seeking persons from Gomoa Fetteh. The men, who launched a massive attack on dozens of workers of the Fetteh Salt Limited, a private company registered by law to mine salt in the area, left many of them wounded. The hired land guards were reported to have wounded a total of fourteen (14) workers in the process of the attack as the injured were at work on Wednesday, October 12, 2022. This reporter gathered that the salt mining company has reported encroachment of their land and thus hired security personnel to patrol the land and report encroachment to the police and military personnel with the Operation Calm Life. According to information available to this reporter, the security men of the company were made to go through police clearance before their engagement to avoid mistaken identities by the community who are under serious security threat by thugs and land guards. It was gathered that on their patrol on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, they were intercepted by a group led by Kwasi Alhaji and subjected to beatings (assault and battery). The sources told journalists that these thugs, popularly known as land guards in the area, assaulted them mercilessly, claiming the security personnel were rather land guards. It was also discovered that these thugs used the police to carry out unwarranted arrests after the assault. According to the information, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and other top executives followed up with the police only to find out the activities were not sanctioned by the commander in charge, but rather by an officer with questionable character, who is currently on leave. This journalist was told that the police commander apologized for the shortcomings and promised to investigate the matter thoroughly. The company has however lodged an official complaint against the culprits and has demanded their immediate arrest for investigations to be carried out. “We are not powerless against injustice, we are law-abiding citizens and wish to exhaust all legal options available to us in ensuring that justice is served. We believe in the rule of law. They trespassed on our land to cause harm as if laws don’t exist. Let’s wait and see how they escape this”, the spokesperson for the company, Mr. Nana Essel, said. It is on record that Gomoa Fetteh has been in news recently over chieftaincy and land guard-related issues for over two decades.