The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Wassa Amenfi East, Ernest Frimpong, has been released by the Tarkwa Police Command in the Western Region.
Mr. Frimpong was released on Wednesday evening after the police took a statement from him regarding his comments in a viral video. He was arrested following the video’s circulation, in which he appeared to urge miners to retaliate against police officers and soldiers who attempt to extort money from them. Mr. Frimpong later clarified that his comments were taken out of context during a two-hour engagement with artisanal small-scale miners.
In an interview with Citi News, the Municipal Chief Executive for Wassa Amenfi East, Frederick Korankye, condemned Frimpong’s comments and urged miners to cooperate with security officers to eliminate illegal mining activities in the community. He emphasized the importance of obtaining legal documentation and permits before undertaking mining ventures in accordance with Ghanaian law.
“The government is ready to facilitate the documents for you to do your work according to the guidelines set out in the mining laws. So that is what I will plead with the miners. In fact, the land belongs to us so we cannot look unconcerned for them to destroy it the way it is,” Korankye stated.
He added, “So once in a while, the military will come and then make sure that they do the right thing. At the beginning of every year, there are rampant armed robbery cases over here, and when it happens like that, we rely on these security services to come and assist, so we cannot be attacking them and then later call them to come and help us.”
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