A High Court in Kumasi has ordered Oseadeeyo Kwesi Kennin IV, the Paramount Chief of the Atti-Morkwa Traditional Area, to halt operations on a concession owned by Kadesh Mining Enterprise. The Chief has been accused of engaging in illegal mining, commonly referred to as galamsey.
The lawsuit was filed by Kadesh Mining Enterprise, which alleges that the Chief, along with both Ghanaian and Chinese nationals, has been operating illegally on their mining concession. This comes despite a pending injunction prohibiting such activities. The company holds the legal mining license for the area and has yet to commence its own operations.
According to the company, the Chief has no legal right to mine on their concession. The lawyer for the plaintiff revealed that private investigations were conducted, which identified the Paramount Chief as the key figure behind the illegal mining activities.
“This client applied to Mincom for a licence to mine gold and then while the lease is subsistent, my client discovered that there was an illegal activity going on, on the land. So that was the reason why we issued the writ but before the writ was issued, we had private investigations into those who were involved in the mining activity. Now we came to discover that the Omanhene of Twifo Atti-Morkwa was the brain behind all these illegal activities”, the lawyer stated.
The lawyer also accused the Chief of asserting ownership over the land and claiming the right to mine without a proper license, based solely on his status as Paramount Chief. He emphasized that only Kadesh Mining Enterprise has the legal right to mine the concession.
“It is only my client who has the legal right to mine on the land, not the Omanhene, who claims that as the Paramount Chief, he can mine with or without a license. This is illegal, and his activities constitute galamsey,” the lawyer added.
The defendants, along with their lawyer, have requested the case be transferred to the Central Region, where the alleged illegal activities took place. However, the plaintiff’s counsel argues that since two of the defendants reside in Kumasi, the case should be heard in the Ashanti Region.
The lawyer for the defendants declined to comment.
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