We’re giving you a month to leave our community – Bongo-Soe residents to Fulani settlers

Residents and opinion leaders at the Bongo-Soe community of the Bongo District in the Upper East region have given Fulani settlers a one-month notice to leave their community.

According to them, the Fulanis have illegally occupied portions of their land and do not bring development hence they must leave within the given time or risk seeing the bad aspect of the community members.

At a press conference held on Friday, 6 April 2023, the Bongo-Soe Community Association for Development (BONSCAD) indicated that the decision came as a result of the recent attack on one of their members by three Fulanis and the subsequent arrest of 11 youth of the community.

Mr Vitus Azeem, a member and former Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), speaking at the presser said: "We wish to state that this is not the first time that some Fulani herdsmen have attacked a member of the community. There were instances where some women were raped and some cattle stolen from the community.

“In addition, an Agency of the Bongo Rural Bank and some Mobile Money vendors in the Village were robbed by persons suspected to be Fulani herdsmen. In June 2021, the Community sent a petition to the District Security Committee (DISEC) on the behaviour of the Fulani herdsmen but never received any response or saw any action taken by the authorities,” he said.

According to Mr Zeem: “The petition was copied to the Paramount Chief and the District Police Command. In January 2022, a reminder was sent to them again but not even an acknowledgment of receipt of the petition was received by the Community.”

“This recent attack was, therefore, the last straw that provoked the youth in the community and they rounded up the Fulanis who were enjoying the Village market freely and wanted to molest them. However, the Assemblymen in Bongo-Soe came to their rescue and called for Police protection while physically restraining the youth from harming them,” indicated.

He further indicated that there were educated Fulanis in other parts of the country that living peacefully with Ghanaians, “which nobody is attacking them. These enlightened Fulanis should not make any derogatory remarks about what happened in Bongo-Soe without knowing all the facts.”

He therefore called for the immediate release of the youth that were arrested and investigations into the matter.

“...That all the young men that were arrested should be released unconditionally and immediately and the prosecution discontinued. Also, the Police investigate and bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to book and the Assembly foots the medical bills of the injured young man and retrieves his motorcycle and mobile phone for him and the Fulani herdsmen pack away from Bongo Soe in the next one month.

“They are roaming herdsmen that should not try to make Bongo Soe their permanent home, especially as they are clearly attempting to seize our land," he added.