The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Upper Denkyira West, Mr Daniel Appianin, has said that Captain Maxwell Mahama who was lynched on Monday at Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region, was part of some military personnel who were protecting Chinese small-scale illegal miners (galamsey) in a distant forest at Aminase.
In a radio interview on Accra based Citi FM Tuesday morning, Mr Appainin said contrary to assertions by the Ghana Armed Forces that Captain Mahama was part of a military detachment in the area to fight galamsey, he [Captain Mahama] was rather part of a group of military personnel who were protecting illegal miners.
According to him, after a highway robbery incident in the area last week, the townsfolk became vigilant about criminals and their operations, thus, their suspicion of Captain Mahama as an armed robber after spotting a pistol on him as he jogged through the town on Monday dawn.
“… I had a call that they had arrested one of the armed robbers, armed and in the cause of exchanging gun shots with them, they’ve killed him.”
In a radio interview on Accra based Citi FM Tuesday morning, Mr Appainin said contrary to assertions by the Ghana Armed Forces that Captain Mahama was part of a military detachment in the area to fight galamsey, he [Captain Mahama] was rather part of a group of military personnel who were protecting illegal miners.
According to him, after a highway robbery incident in the area last week, the townsfolk became vigilant about criminals and their operations, thus, their suspicion of Captain Mahama as an armed robber after spotting a pistol on him as he jogged through the town on Monday dawn.
“… I had a call that they had arrested one of the armed robbers, armed and in the cause of exchanging gun shots with them, they’ve killed him.”
“I called my police commander, he told me they’ve gone to the scene, they’ve taken the body and that he will brief me afterwards.”
“… In the evening around 6pm, 7pm, then I had information that the supposed armed robber was not [an armed robber] but he was a military man – one of those military men who are protecting the small-scale miners in that forest I’m talking about, very far distance from where the forest is and where the incident took place. The incident took place at Denkyem-Obuasi, a very far, long distance to Aminase where the forest is, where those military men are,” Mr Appianin said.
