On Wednesday 6th September, 2023, about 12:30 pm, four community people from Terchire belonging to the Concerned Farmer’s Association, Terchire, were arrested by the Tano North District Police for protecting their farm properties from destruction by Newmont.
The four community people on a visit to their farm noticed that John Mensah, the Chairman of the Concerned Farmers Association’s farm was being destroyed by workers or agents of Newmont. In the act of protecting Mr Mensah’s farm from destruction, the farmers were arrested on the farm by the Tano North District Police.
Prior to the arrest of these four people, three other farmers, Mr Yaw Adu, Mr John Mensah and Mr Emmanuel Kwame Marfo were arrested in a similar manner by the Tano North District Police upon complaint by Newmont Gold Ghana Limited that these three farmers had trespassed onto Newmont’s concession and destroyed their property.
They were arraigned before the Circuit Court, Duayaw Nkwanta in the Tano North District this Monday 4th September 2023. The Court admitted the farmers to bail pending the final determination of the trial.
The company within the past months of July, August and September 2023 had entered the lands of farmers and unlawfully destroyed the farmers farm properties without the consent of the owners or negotiating payment of compensation for their farm properties.
The destroyed properties comprise teak trees, cocoa farms, palm trees and food crops belong to John Mensah, Beatrice Mensah, Yaw Paul Asare, Abraham Amo, Silas Adjei Mensah, Gabriel Kofi Nelson, Abubakar Sadick and Emmanuel Kwame Marfo. These farms serve as the main source of livelihood for these farmers.
The affected farmers through their lawyers, the Centre for Public Interest Law (CEPIL) have formally notified Newmont to stop the unlawful destruction of the properties.
However, the company has disregarded this notice and used the Tano North District Police to intimidate and harass the affected farmers when these farmers exercise their constitutional right to own and protect their properties from destruction by Newmont. (Attached is the letter written to Newmont by CEPIL).
While the farmers and Newmont are aware that government has started a process towards compulsorily acquiring some of the lands belonging to some members of the Concerned Farmers Association for mining, no such lands as we write have been compulsorily acquired yet for Newmont’s mining operations in accordance with law.
The destruction of these farms by Newmont will leave no evidence of farm properties for the farmers to demand compensation from government or the Lands Commission in the compulsory acquisition process of their land.
