Professor Nana Ama Klutse is the CEO of the EPA
The Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Professor Nana Ama Klutse, has given a blow-by-blow account of what led to an accident involving some journalists while they were escaping from Dadwene, a community near Obuasi in the Ashanti Region.
Speaking in an interview with TV3 on November 6, 2025, Prof Klutse shared how the exercise, meant to shut down suppliers of “galamsey” equipment, escalated rapidly into a life-threatening encounter.
Prof Klutse explained that after closing multiple supply shops around Anhwia Nkwanta, the team spotted active illegal mining by the roadside near Obuasi.
“When we stopped and walked into the area where they were actually mining, they had run away by the time we got there. While leaving, we saw three of the excavators they were using inside a river body.
“They had mined in a river body and blocked the river in such a way that it has taken different tributaries around the area and flooded some places. It was really a bad situation. So, we went to the car and used another route to the place,” she said.
Galamsey-Operation-Turns-Bloody-Journalists-in-critical-condition-after-attack-2008444″>EPA Anti-Galamsey Operation: Journalists in critical condition after attack
According to her, as she and the other officials drew closer, the mining operatives fled.
Still, moments later, she said heavily-built, armed men advanced on the team despite the presence of military and National Security personnel.
“Before we knew it, we saw heavily-built men with guns approaching. Even though we had the military and some National Security personnel with us, we saw that we couldn’t exchange fire; we could not fight them. So, we had to run for our lives,” she narrated.
In the rush to retreat, one of the convoy vehicles carrying EPA staff and journalists was involved in a head-on collision with a truck.
“The truck was carrying some pipes for galamsey operations. We had seen such pipes at the sites,” she added.
Several persons were injured. Among them was a cameraman from JoyNews, who reportedly broke his thigh, and a reporter from Adom TV who sustained a head injury.
Following the incident, various bodies and high-profile individuals have expressed their outrage and have called for more stringent action to be taken to prevent such occurrences.
ID/AE
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