5 Houses Burnt In Tuobodom

The relative calm which the people of Tuobodom in the Brong-Ahafo Region experienced immediately after the fracas on Wednesday afternoon � which claimed the lives of seven persons � has been disturbed once again. Even though there is tight security at Tuobodom with the presence of the military and the police, some unidentified persons were able to sneak across the security red line to set two�buildings on fire amidst gunshots. Three more houses were burnt in the night in what appears to be�a reprisal�attack. No casualties were recorded in the latest raid but reports say one of the burnt houses belongs to the Mamprusi chief of Tuobodom. The chief said he was about to go to bed when he heard his neighbours shouting. He went outside only to discover that a part of his building was on fire. The police in the region have confirmed the incident. Techiman Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Emmanuel Twumasi Ankrah, stated that his men could not rush to the town�at the time the houses were set ablaze. �When the incident happened, we could not go to the place immediately because access to the place is difficult.�We will go there today [Friday] to assess the extent of damage done,� he explained. 2 Arrested Meanwhile, the Techiman police have arrested�two persons�� Stephen Amoako and Nana Kwadwo Tano � for allegedly masterminding the shooting incident. The two have since been transferred to the Brong-Ahafo Regional Police Command in Sunyani to assist with investigations. Speaking to�DAILY GUIDE�on condition of anonymity, a 25-year-old man said one of the burnt houses belonged to a certain fetish priest who was suspected of fortifying members of the gang which killed the seven innocent persons. He said the said fetish priest, who hails from Kranka in the Nkoranza North District and has his shrine in the house, is suspected to have bathed the perpetrators with some concoction which made them brave and fearless.� According to him,�anytime there was a threat of war between the two feuding factions, the fetish priest was the one the young men went to for spiritual fortification. When�DAILY GUIDE�visited the tomato-growing town which used to be very busy because of the popular Tuobodom tomato market, the town looked deserted, with the police and military virtually taking over the town. A 78-year old man who spoke to�DAILY GUIDE�said the Tuobodom chieftaincy problem had been there for more than 300 years and that many lives had been lost through fighting.