Clashes over burnt Mosque

The Zongo District Police Command in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital, has arrested nine people suspected to be involved in the violent clashes that occurred over the attempts to reconstruct a burnt mosque in Subin.

They are Omar Farouk Mohammed, Abdullah Mohammed, Abdul Jawad Mohammed, Musah Abubakar, Mohammed Seidu, Mohammed Matawakilo, Rabilu Awal, Omar Farouk and Mallama Kadijah.

Superintendent Rev Dr Nana Nyamekye Adane-Ameyaw, the Zongo District Police Commander, who briefed the DAILY GUIDE, said the suspects would be processed for arraignment.

He said the Goro mosque which is close to the West African Examination Council (WAEC) was razed down by a ferocious fire suspected to have been caused by an electrical fault at about 2:00 am on April 27, 2015.

He said the police were not informed about the incident until May 5, 2015 when one Mallama Kadija, an Islamic teacher at Akwatia-Line in Kumasi, accompanied by two other persons lodged a formal complaint about it.

When Mallama and her group attempted to rebuild the mosque, another group led by a certain Camal Adolf Yakubu, Baba Idi and B.A Munkaila forcibly entered the area to rebuild it without the consent of the complainant.

To prevent any bloody clash, the police detailed men to the scene and the parties were invited, cautioned and granted police self-cognisance bail.

Considering that the case was religious one and could be resolved amicably by the Islamic leaders, the police chief said it was sent to the Ashanti Regional Chief Imam, Sheikh Abdul-Mu’min Haruna II, for amicable settlement.

Superintendent Rev Dr Adane-Ameyaw said the feuding parties disappointingly disregarded the warning of the authorities against rebuilding the mosque until after their disagreements were addressed.

A later attempt to reconstruct it culminated in a bloody clash on Sunday, May 18, 2015, at about 11:00 am during which one Mamoud Iddrisu, 32, a fashion designer, who was attacked by three men sustained cutlass wounds in his jaw and other parts of his body.

Mamoud reported the incident to the police, resulting in the arrest of the nine people who, the police said, would be processed for court.