Is Kingdom of Ntsein crumbling?

It is one of the highly populated communities located on the top of a hill near the Cape Coast Castle in the metropolis.

This fishing community, Ntsein, is described by many as a “no go” area because it has carved a niche for itself as a community in a lawful country, yet established with its own colony of rules and regulations. It is also called the headquarters of deviants because of the ability of its members to resist any attempt by the agencies responsible to ensure sanity in the metropolis.

The police cannot penetrate their fortress to make arrests or to direct the virtues of civility there, as the community is a law onto itself. The fact that there is no night in Ntsein, as children and teenagers play and dance with loud music provided by “saloon bars” scattered around, particularly at weekends, is enough to create a mental picture of the situation under focus.

These young ones puff out bellowing smokes from their cigarettes and gulp down hot beverages as they wriggle their waists on their popular tunes.

Take for granted that what was earlier discussed is a child’s play.

What is worrying is how some of these miscreants leave their den to commit crime. These criminals use guns and other dangerous implements to attack their victims and rob them of their property. They occasionally spray their victims with pepper to demobilise them before depriving them of their valuables.

Rules

The police is aware of their operations but has been unable, over the years, to break into their stronghold. These suspects operate under their own rules and regulation.

Some of the rules dictate that anyone who loses his or her valuables (such as Ipad, laptop, phones, bags) in the metropolis should report to the police, and because the police know their leadership, (not a sign of weakness and connivance though), a call is placed to the criminals.

The victims are then directed to a spot, where they identify their items from among a lot of valuables displayed and pay for them before taking them away. This has become the norm, but it is not a guarantee that anyone who loses an item will get it at all cost.

There is a modification to the conditions for the retrieval of stolen items. Currently, only a limited grace period is allowed for the victims to retrieve their items, unlike in the past where there was unlimited time for collection.

Now the stolen items are transported to Takoradi and other adjourning communities where they are disposed of with alacrity.

Most of the victims of these criminals are students and lecturers. The record of insecurity in relation to property is high during festive occasions. The hoodlums break into vehicles, rooms and even attack their victims during the day, depriving them of valuables.

Just last year, the police arrested two of the suspected criminals and brought them to the Bakaano Police Station to answer questions relating to crime. The group moved in to free their colleagues, resulting in exchange of gunfire and the death of one of them.

It took the intervention of the then Central Regional Minister and some traditional leadership to broker peace and restore the area to normalcy.

Miracle at Ntsein

On Tuesday, May 16, 2017 a miracle occurred. The new Regional Police Commander made a breakthrough. He and his personnel, about 50 men, broke into the “sacred cult” and arrested eight suspects.

Some escaped by jumping into the sea. The discarded boats, which served as an abode to many of the suspects, have also been razed to the grounds.

Items retrieved included 123 pieces of wrapped plant material and quantity of seeds suspected to be narcotic drug, 10 knives, 24 scissors, a hammer, crow bars, TV sets, six lighters, 27 CDs and a taxi cab suspected to be used by a goat stealing syndicate.

The kingdom seems to have crumbled, but the question which still remains in the minds of many, and rightly so, is whether or not the dreaded kingdom will be rebuilt, or it is destroyed forever.

Keeping the ghetto in its present form, and with constant surveillance, there will be peace and tranquility and tourist activities would boom.

If the assurance given by the police command that the swoop in the region is to ensure the rule of law, as stipulated by the 1992 Constitution is anything to go by, then hurray!

More power to their elbows!