Minority condemns alleged torture of illegal miners by soldiers
Govt silence on torture of illegal miners' unfortunate, Jinapor
The government has set up a committee to probe the alleged torture of persons suspected to be involved in illegal mining activities by personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces.
This is after a video that was shared on social media showed suspected illegal miners being manhandled by some soldiers who are purported to be part of a task force set up by the government to curb the menace of illegal mining in the country.
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, who announced the setting up of the committee, said that it is very important that the full facts surrounding the incident are determined before any punitive measure is taken.
He said that the committee will be chaired by his deputy, Benito Owusu Bio.
“They (the committee) began work earnestly, and they have gone very far with their work. We will produce a report, and we will act on the report.
“What is important is for us to assemble the unimpeachable facts first,” the minister said.
He indicated that his ministry together with the Ministry of Defence and Ghana Armed Forces will deal with the soldiers in the event that they are found culpable.
Before the minister’s statement, the Ranking Member of Parliament’s Mines and Energy Committee, John Jinapor, berated the government for staying silent on the incident.
He stated that the silence of the government is unfortunate because the government has on previous occasions freed foreign illegal mining kingpins and is now watching on as Ghanaians are tortured for allegedly taking part in illegal mining activities without any trial or prosecution.
GhanaWeb has sighted a viral video of suspected illegal small-scale mining ('galamsey') operators lying prostrate in dirty and muddy water surrounded by some officers in military uniform with guns.
It has emerged that some personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces working to prevent illegal mining activities in the Ashanti region have been torturing and treating the 'galamsey' operators inhumanely.
In the said video, some of the 'galamseyers' were shirtless and others had been fully immersed in the mud as the uniformed soldiers supervised them through the punishment.
The 'galamseyers', according to some reports, were operating in a mining concession which belongs to Anglogold Ashanti.
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Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor