Three Fulani herdsmen and one local person have been killed in separate attacks in what is suspected to be reprisal killing in the Kwahu East District in the Eastern Region.
The first incident happened at Abotronsa, near Abetifi, on January 1, this year when Alhaji Alhassan Abubakar, a 30-year- old Fulani was shot dead.
On January 7, this year, another Fulani, Osumanu Gariba, 30, was shot and killed in the bush by an unknown assailant at Aseeseso.
On January 21, 2015, another Fulani, identified as Dramani Yakubu, was killed at Dwerebease, near Hweehwee in the Afram Plains.
The fourth victim, Kojo Asiedu, was shot in his house at Mpaem, following an attack on him a few days after the Aseeseso incident.
So far, no arrest has been made, and in order to avoid a conflict between the Fulani and the local people, the Eastern Regional Security Council ( REGSEC), led by the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Antwi Boasiako-Sekyere, has held a meeting with the two parties to find an amicable solution to the problem.
He told the chiefs and the people of the area to exercise maximum restraint, as measures were being put in place to address the issue of Fulani herdsmen.
He said as part of measures to deal with the problem, the REGSEC had decided to move Fulani herdsmen to the Afram Plains where fodder banks had been established.
He said a joint task force comprising the police and the military was to be immediately formed to monitor the movement of the herdsmen.
He said because of the existence of ECOWAS protocols, due diligence should be followed to deal with the issue.
Chiefs’ concern
The Spokesperson for the Kwahu Traditional Council and Krontihene of Kwahu Abene, Nana Bempeh Wiredu III, said he was not happy that several meetings held with the REGSEC had yielded no result and added that the herdsmen should leave the area for peace to prevail.
He said most farms in the Kwahu area had been destroyed by the herdsmen, who carried out most of their activities in the night.
He called on the REGSEC to immediately move the headsmen from the area.
A representative of the Fulani herdsmen, Alhaji Omaru, said those Fulani perpetrating crimes against the local people had not registered with the Kwahu Traditional Council.
He apologised to the people and called for closer collaboration to identify and arrest those involved in those dastardly acts.
MOFA
An official of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Mr Kofi Amoako Kyenebuah, said fodder banks had been established on 949 hectares of land at Wawase, Amankwafrom, Forifori and Memchemfri for the herdsmen.
He said what was needed now were measures to be put in place for the headsmen to be resettled.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Eastern Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police Mr James Abass Abaa, has told the Daily Graphic that most of the incidents happened in the bush, making the arrest of culprits very difficult.
He called on the people to always call the police when they saw people with guns in the bush.
For his part, the Kwahu East District Chief Executive, Nana Antwi Siaw, called for peaceful coexistence between the locals and the Fulani herdsmen.
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