3 dead illegal miners were impervious to earlier warnings - DCE

The three persons confirmed dead after a pit they dug to search for gold caved in on them at Kokotro in the Bekwai Municipality of the Ashanti Region last week were warned of their illegal activities, MyNewsGh.com has learnt.

Our Regional Correspondent, Kwabena Danso-Dapaah, reports the local Assembly had organised series of engagements with communities within the municipality and sensitised them on the dangers of entering into pits to carry out illegal mining activities.

According to the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Kwaku Kyei Baffour who confirmed this to MyNewsGH.com, despite all the moves the people ignored such warnings and dangers associated with the illegal business and still went ahead.

“We have warned the people through the Assembly member in the area, and we have also organised community durbars to warn them to desist from such acts”, he confirmed.

“What has happened is enough a warning to whoever wants to go and do same”, the chairman of the Municipal Security Committee (MUSEC) believes.

The MCE confirmed three young men, Augustine Opoku, 17, Evans Mensah, 20 and Emmanuel Aidoo, 19 who are all natives of Subriso had dug a pit of about 10 to 20 feet depth to search for the nugget after it rained in the area.

Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area and First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei Owusu is pushing for the security agencies to be given the power to shoot those involved in illegal mining popularly called ‘galamsey’ in the country.

The 3 illegal miners at Kotokro met their death despite series of warnings from the legal Assembly