Agogo Citizens Assoc - Washington Metro Area

Dear Friends,

Let me try to provide some background information to the news from Ghanaweb which Nana Tuuda generously circulated by e-mail to all of us. First of all, the demonstration was peacefully organized by the Concern Citizens of Agogo, called The Agogo Development Task Force. The objectives of the demonstration were two fold as we were told.

Firstly, to draw the attention of the Government on the menace posed by the presence of the Funali herdsmen and their cattle on the legitimate land of Agogo citizens and the farmers in the area. The irresponsible behaviour of the herdsmen and the impunity with which they commit a whole range of criminal activities at the disguise of cattle raring have led to the destruction of farms and farm lands, raping of innocent married and unmarried women, and threats on the lives of the farming community in the areas where they occupy. Secondly, the demonstration was to protest against some of our chiefs who have illegally leased some family lands to the Fulanis without the approval of the family members. Some of the leases are for periods of 50 years that have renewal options for additional 25 or 50 years. The demonstration in itself was approved by the Police at Agogo but they failed to provide any guidance to control the crowd which was very deliberate because of their personal interest in the matter. The corrupt police take bribes from these Fulani herdsmen so they could be protected.

Now the story of the events of Friday. I was at Agogo early on that morning preparing to travel to Accra when the demonstration started. I was informed that it was very peaceful earlier on. As I was making my way out of town I had a call to alert me that one of the demonstrators has been arrested by the Police without any "provocation". I immediately contacted the MCE, Honorable Osei Bonsu about the situation. As a matter of fact, he was heading to the Police station when I called him. A few minutes later I had another call, this time more distressed than the first one, informing me of the Police firing live bullets into the crowd that had gone to the Police station to demand the release of their colleague arrested.

As a result, I abandoned my journey and returned to Agogo to see what was going on. I drove straight to the hospital to ascertain the truth about what I heard. Indeed, the Emergency room was a mess. There were in all about 12 people who got hit by the gun shots and were being treated from various wounds. I immediately checked with the nurses if there were any fatalities and was told none. That was a big sigh of relief and that was the good news.

Upon hearing that I left the hospital and went to the Police station where I met the MCE who had succeeded in securing the release of the person who was arrested. Ironically, it was the Divisional Police Commander (head of the depot) at the Agogo station who started the shootings, according to eye witnesses and the victims. As the news reporting indicated, some of the demonstrators had gone to the Chief's Palace to protest against the Registrar at the Traditional Council who was one of the signatories to the lease agreements of land to the Fulani's.

When the crowd got to the Palace, they were staging their protests peacefully outside the main gate. However, the Registrar upon seeing the crowd outside and with all the insinuations being poured on him, felt very threatened and decided to fire some warning shots into the air. My understanding was that (not to justify any action) the crowd got angry when they heard the gun shots and charged spontaneously into the compound of the Palace and started vandalizing. They immediately retrieved and left the Palace. The Police was called in by the Registrar to the Palace. When they arrived the crowd had already left and were in the streets matching on. The DSP then fired some warning shots into the air. He then directed a KIA truck that the demonstrators were using for announcements and was full of people and loud speakers to stop. The Officer then grabbed the microphone and told the crowd that the guns given to the Police was meant to be used to kill people not animals and that anyone who misbehaves would be shot without hesitation. Immediately following his announcement, the eyewitness account indicated that another Junior Police Officer also took the microphone and tried to tone down the unguarded threats earlier made by his superior officer. He said, if they stayed calm without taking the laws into their own hands then nothing will happpen to them. As the Police were leaving the scene, one of the demonstrators also took turn of the microphone and announced that the Police cannot shoot anybody since they were conducting themselves peacefully. The Officer then arrested that individual upon hearing his announcement and took him to the station. That started the whole mess bacause the crowd went to the station to seek the unconditional release of their colleague. This then resulted the same officer shooting live bullets into the crowd.

I would also like to add that the demonstrators, prior to going to the Palace, had held similar protests in the houses of three other sub-chiefs who had signed these lease agreements without any incidence. This is to explain that they did not indiscrimanetly select the Chiefs Palace for the protests.

The MCE and the MP calmed down the nerves of the crowd and held a rally at the Russia Park where they were presented with a petition by the Task Force. They assured the citizens that all efforts will be made to punsih the Police Officer(s) who went on the shooting spree. Also, on the Funali's presence, they're working around the clock to bring the National Security Force to come to Agogo to initiate the process of driving them out of the area.

I understand a press conference was held by the Task Force yesterday to correct some of the reporting errors by the media and also to reaffirmed their demand for the removal of the herdsmen as well as the abrogation of the land leases by these chiefs.

I also learned that all the injured are responding well to treatment and none of the cases is life threatening.

For your information, I've attached a summary of the lease agreements which the Task Force distributed to the general public as well as 2 of the lease agreements that I managed to get copies. Remember, there were 4 separate leases and I'll send the remaining 2 when I get copies. (Please note that I was unable to attach the documents as the internet cafes nearest me are closed. The documents had to be scanned at the cafe and would do that tomorrow. I didn't want to wait for the release of the write up as I completed it yesterday and was hoping I could do the attachment today before the release).

I'll urge all of us to pray for those who got shot. In the meantime, if you speak to your relatives at home, advice them to stay calm and allow the authorities to deal with the matter without taking the laws into their own hands. The demand for the citizens right cannot be compromised, however, we have to follow the due process without resulting into any violent means.

May God bless Agogo!

Immediate Past President.