Angry youth protest killing of 22-year-old man by security of illegal Chinese miners at Amenfi Central

A 22-year-old Ghanaian has been killed by a man said to be working as a security official for some Chinese illegal miners at Hiawa, a community in the Amenfi Central Constituency of the Western Region.

The deceased, identified as Kwaku Etsi, is reported by 3news.com to have been shot dead, a situation that has generated a series of protests among the young people in the area.

The report added that Kwaku Etsi met his untimely death in the wee hours of Thursday, June 29, 2023, when he was spotted on the premise of the Chinese national.

Although the exact mission of the deceased is not known, one of the residents who spoke to Connect FM said that there are suspicions that he was there to steal their black sand containing raw gold.

“They fired multiple shots at him. They first shot his leg, he was not dead and started begging for mercy but they went ahead to shoot his head, back and chest. He was quickly rushed to the clinic but was pronounced dead on arrival,” the resident said, the report added.

After committing the crime, the Chinese national is said to have bolted.

Enraged by the situation after the word got out, the youth in the area are reported to have angrily poured out onto the streets in protest of the death of the young man, following it up with an invasion of the scene of the crime.

The youth are also reported to have taken their protests to all known premises of Chinese illegal miners in the community, requesting of them questions on why and how Kwaku Etsi was killed.

The report added that the youth of Kiawa also took out their anger on properties said to belong to the Chinese national, a situation that has led to the police hunting them down.

The youth have, however, expressed even more anger at the fact that the police seem to have left the main issue of the murder of their colleague, and is rather looking for them for the damages they caused during their protests.

The report also indicated that one of the protestors, Nana Amoa, said it doesn’t seem the police are ready to arrest the alleged suspect of the crime, who is currently on the run.

“We were only protesting the death of our friend. We needed answers on why he was shot when he had not stolen anything as they claim. The police have instead been arresting the protesters. Some of our colleagues have been arrested and the police are on manhunt for the rest of us. So, most of us are fleeing the community as I speak because we are afraid, they will come after us. The Chinese illegal miners are still working with their macho men whilst we are fleeing,” he said, the report added.

Another resident, Kwaku Takyi, lamented how they have continued to be tormented by these Chinese nationals engaging in illegal mining activities in the area, aided by their well-built guards.

“The macho men have been parading the community with pump action guns without any fear. They have been protecting the Chinese illegal miners all day and night. They hold the pump action guns on the streets every day and nobody dare say anything to them,” he also said.

Meanwhile, the assembly member of the community, Ebenezer Obimpeh, has said that the situation is under control and that some of the members of the community who were arrested have since been granted bail.

The report also stated that Patrick Amponteng, the Amenfi Central District Chief Executive, has been unreachable to answer to questions regarding the situation.

You can also watch this episode of People & Places here:

Watch the latest episode of Everyday People on GhanaWeb TV below:

AE/OGB