GALAMSEY KINGPINS BIND RECRUITS WITH BLOOD OATHS TO KEEP THEM SILENT – Forestry Commission Deputy CEO
Unsettling information regarding the criminal and spiritual networks pertaining to unlawful mining, known locally as galamsey, has been made public by the Deputy Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission, Elikem Kotoko.
He claims that certain influential financiers force young recruits to make spiritual vows and blood contracts that, even in the face of tremendous pressure, keep them from disclosing their sponsors.
“There’s a whole lot of myth surrounding gold. It is a spirit, it grows, this and that. So when these kingpins employ these small boys into the whole enterprise, they make them take all manner of vows and blood covenants. Catch him, try to cut even his throat, he will not want to disclose,” Mr Kotoko explained on Prime Insight on Joy Prime on Saturday, October 4.
He added that these practices make it nearly impossible for investigators to trace the actual financiers behind galamsey. “One of the things we are doing now is monitoring some of them, so that we can finally trace who and where they actually engage in this enterprise. If we do not do these things, we will only be deceiving ourselves,” he noted.
Mr Kotoko, who spoke during discussions on President John Mahama’s recent meeting with civil society organisations on the galamsey menace, dismissed suggestions that the government’s renewed fight was politically targeting Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi). This follows Attorney-General Dominic Ayine’s announcement that Wontumi would face prosecution over his company, Akonta Mining’s, alleged involvement in illegal mining.
“It is not targeting, but we live in this country, and one person who publicly always displayed wealth, displayed gold, etc., was Wontumi,” he stated.
He also discussed the arguments around the necessity of declaring a state of emergency in order to combat galamsey. He acknowledged that the President has constitutional authority, but cautioned that evading due process could have dire legal repercussions.
“You can take a decision as President to press this button, but when you leave office, you will be queried as to whether you took that action properly. Yes, the Constitution gives executive powers, but there are still standard protocols to go through before doing so,” he cautioned.
“If you do not go through those protocols, you will be found culpable under the law, even though you think you have executed a mandate given by the Constitution. So, whether acting on or against advice from the national security council, you must have very good reasons for your decision,” he added.
