The disturbing incident at Bepotenten Sukuum in the Jacobu District of the Ashanti Region, where police officers on routine patrol were attacked and a service rifle briefly seized, should jolt the nation out of any lingering complacency about the dangers posed by illegal mining—popularly known as galamsey—and the unchecked spread of firearms into the wrong hands.
This was not merely an isolated clash between civilians and the police. It was a flashing red warning about a growing security threat that now shadows the galamsey menace.
That a pump-action gun was first retrieved from a 15-year-old boy is troubling enough. That a mob could later mount a coordinated attack on armed police officers, block a road and wrestle a service rifle from them is even more alarming.
These are not the actions of law-abiding citizens caught in a moment of anger. They reflect a deepening culture of lawlessness, bravado and impunity—traits that have become disturbingly familiar in some illegal mining enclaves.
For us at The Ghanaian Times, galamsey is no longer merely an environmental crime. It has evolved into a heavily networked underground economy, protected by violence and sustained by fear.
Across mining districts, illegal operators increasingly arm themselves to ward off rival groups and, more ominously, to confront state authority. The Jacobu incident underscores a hard truth: where illegal mining thrives unchecked, firearms follow—and where firearms proliferate, respect for the rule of law withers.
The attack on the police is particularly significant because it represents a direct challenge to the authority of the State. When officers carrying out lawful duties can be ambushed, assaulted and disarmed, public confidence in security institutions is shaken.
Worse still, it emboldens criminal networks to believe that force, not law, is the ultimate currency of power.
The Ghanaian Times therefore emphasises that it is not enough for the police to issue cautions and promise arrests, important as these steps may be. This incident demands a broader, coordinated national response that treats galamsey, illegal arms possession and violent resistance to law enforcement as interconnected threats.
It is our considered view that the fight against illegal mining cannot succeed if it is pursued solely as an environmental or economic issue, divorced from its security implications.
First, intelligence-led policing must be intensified in mining districts. Communities where firearms circulate freely do not become armed overnight. There are supply chains, collaborators and financiers who must be exposed and dismantled.
Second, stricter enforcement of firearms laws is imperative. The casual presence of a pump-action gun in the hands of a minor is a national disgrace and points to serious gaps in monitoring and accountability.
We also strongly recommend sustained community engagement. Residents must understand that shielding armed illegal miners places entire communities at risk. Silence and complicity may offer short-term protection, but they ultimately invite violence, instability and tragic loss of life.
The Ghanaian Times admonishes chiefs, opinion leaders and local authorities to take a firm stand against galamsey-related criminality in all its forms.
The Jacobu incident should serve as a turning point. Ghana cannot afford a future where illegal miners become de facto warlords—armed, emboldened and prepared to confront the State.
The struggle against galamsey must now be recognised for what it truly is: a fight not only for our rivers and forests, but for public safety, the authority of the law and the very integrity of the Republic.
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