KMA intensifies sanitation crackdown, arrests several offenders

The sanitation officers in the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) have reportedly intensified the enforcement of sanitation laws in the region.

The initiative led to the crackdown and arrest of some people for sanitation offences, while some shops were locked.

The intensive crackdown forms part of the metropolitan assembly's effort to promote sanitation and compliance with health and environmental regulations.

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In a post shared on social media on July 6, 2026, the Kumasi Metropolitan Environmental Health Officer, Kwaku Poku, said, "So far, we have arrested some people. We are currently sending them to the court for further legal action. And so, what we are saying is that it will continue unabated. We have made several announcements, especially in these communities, about the areas that will be visited. We'll continue with the announcements, telling them to keep their environment clean. When we come around and we identify any nuisance, it means you have decided not to abide by our notice, and we'll take you on on that."

Kwaku Poku said some of the offences were the accumulation of construction waste and refuse, burning refuse in open spaces, and failing to keep the front of homes and business premises clean.

He mentioned that they visited a church where the frontage was dirty despite repeated announcements urging residents to keep their surroundings clean.

"What happened was that the frontage was dirty, and we have made announcements that everybody must keep the frontage clean. It has taken us about a month or so to do that. So we met a lady, we asked her to follow us, and she was like, she was not prepared to follow us. And so we had no choice but to force her to follow us to the court to answer why the frontage—even when we went back, we came and met the nuisance there," he stated.

"We were thinking that even after confronting them, they would have cleared everything there, but we went there for about an hour and came back to meet the nuisance there. So that's why we are taking them on. Did you face any challenge? Oh, obviously you have people resisting, some making unsavoury comments, but that's what we are used to. And so we are doing our job; it's part of our job," he added.

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Reacting to the question about the compliance level of the residents, he acknowledged that some residents heeded the directives of the assembly, while others remained adamant.

"So far I think that some have complied, but you know that definitely you have some recalcitrant ones, so those are the ones that we are dealing with," Kwaku Poku said.

Watch video below:

Sanitation officers have begun a crackdown on offenders as the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly intensifies enforcement of sanitation laws across communities.

Kumasi Metro Environmental Health Officer, Kwaku Poku says 11 people have been arrested, while shops operating under… pic.twitter.com/3DKyo2nbTs

— ChannelOne TV (@Channel1TVGHA) July 6, 2026