Kwabena Adu Koranteng writes
Nature has a way of revealing what men try so desperately to hide. For years, Ghana’s forests, rivers, and farmlands have been ravaged under the weight of illegal mining — galamsey — while those who should protect the nation have either looked away or actively benefited from the destruction. But the tide is turning. The forces of truth and consequence are beginning to unmask the powerful figures who have financed and protected this environmental crime.
The recent Hwidiem galamsey confrontation in the Ahafo Region is not an isolated event. It is a symptom of a deeper rot — one that has festered quietly in the corridors of power. The official account is both damning and revealing. The Director of Operations of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) and a team of soldiers were conducting a reconnaissance mission when they stumbled upon active galamsey operations near Bronikrom. The arrests that followed were legitimate and courageous, backed by evidence: an excavator, weapons, ammunition, and cash — all pointing to a well-financed illegal mining operation.
But then politics reared its ugly head.
According to multiple reports, the Member of Parliament for Asutifi North, Hon. Ebenezer Kwaku Addo, arrived at the scene in the company of armed thugs, brazenly demanding the release of the suspects. He reportedly claimed to be acting on behalf of Hon. Collins Dauda, MP for Asutifi South — both senior figures of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). When the NAIMOS team stood its ground, the MP’s men allegedly assaulted the officers, forcibly removed the handcuffs from the arrested miners, and chased the state officials away.
If these reports are accurate, this is not only criminal — it is treasonous. It is an attack on the authority of the Republic itself.
The violence did not end there. At the Hwidiem Police Station, where the NAIMOS officers sought refuge and attempted to lodge a report, a mob of about 600 people besieged the premises, vandalising police vehicles and threatening to burn down the station. The police were compelled to release seized property just to prevent further bloodshed.
It was an act of anarchy — one instigated, according to witnesses, by those who claim to represent the people in Parliament.
Let’s be honest: this is not about politics anymore. It is about criminal complicity. Ghana cannot pretend to be serious about fighting galamsey when MPs themselves become patrons of the very criminals destroying our rivers. The tragedy of our time is that the same leaders who chant “Save the environment!” in public are the ones mining its destruction in private.
The law of karma, as many say, has begun to work. Nature is exposing the kingpins who have turned illegal mining into a political enterprise. Today it is Asutifi North and Asutifi South; tomorrow it may be others. But make no mistake — the truth always finds its way to the surface.
Ghana’s future depends on whether we choose to confront this hypocrisy or surrender to it. The NAIMOS officers who stood their ground in Hwidiem deserve the nation’s respect, not intimidation. They represent the rule of law — something our democracy cannot survive without.
The security agencies must not flinch. If Members of Parliament are found guilty of obstructing law enforcement or inciting violence, they must face prosecution — no excuses, no political spin. The fight against galamsey is a fight for survival itself: of our rivers, our farms, and our children’s inheritance.
The message is simple: no one is above the law.
Not even those who hide behind political colours to loot the land.
Because in the end, nature itself will expose them all.
