Escalation of Illegal Mining Threats in Ghana
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has recently faced a significant challenge from illegal miners, known as galamsey operators, who have escalated their tactics to include armed confrontations. This has led to a series of alarming incidents, including the forced evacuation of key state agencies from Obuasi and its surrounding areas.
Chief Executive Officer of the EPA, Prof Nana Ama Klutse, shared details of the incident where state operatives, including National Security personnel and members of the Ghana Armed Forces, were driven out after being threatened with sophisticated weapons by heavily armed illegal miners. During their escape, a group of journalists and EPA staff were involved in an accident, resulting in various injuries such as broken thighs, head injuries, and chest pains.
According to Prof. Klutse, the anti-galamsey team had a military escort, but the soldiers could not overpower the armed miners. Consequently, the team had to flee after receiving intelligence from Accra that they should immediately leave the site. The attackers disguised themselves as police officers by wearing CID-branded uniforms, further complicating the situation.
This is the second time in a short period that galamsey operators have attacked a state-mandated team fighting the menace that has polluted water bodies, depleted protected forests, and destroyed farmlands across the country.
MP Appears in Court Over Alleged Obstruction
The Member of Parliament for Asutifi North, Ebenezer Kwaku Addo, has appeared in court following allegations that he obstructed an anti-illegal mining operation conducted by the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) near Bronikrom–Hwediem in the Ahafo Region. The incident took place on Saturday, 1 November 2025, involving a group of young people resisting a NAIMOS task force during a raid on illegal mining sites in the area. The MP has been accused of inciting the attack on the task force, an allegation he has strongly denied.
Ongoing Arrests and Legal Challenges
The Obuasi attack on the EPA team also coincides with NAIMOS’s ongoing arrests of numerous foreigners, especially gun-wielding Chinese nationals, from various galamsey pits and riverbeds across the country, with no information on whether they are being prosecuted.
Details of the Incident
The incident took place at Afari following a violent clash with illegal miners near Obuasi in the Ashanti Region. Reports state that the EPA convoy was initially attacked by a group of illegal miners at Dadwene, a community close to Obuasi. The severity of the attack reportedly compelled the EPA team and accompanying media personnel to withdraw.
Narrating the incident on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 on Thursday, November 6, she said, “As the operation we started yesterday (Wednesday, November 5), it’s a three-week plan that the EPA has to ensure, especially, the services that others provide for mining in our water bodies, which is illegal. We plan to tackle that aspect as well. So we realised that saying ‘Stop mining in the river bodies’ wasn’t enough; we needed to deal with the suppliers.”
So we closed down many shops at Anhwia Nkwanta, and today (Thursday, November 6) we were on another route to close down some other shops. On our way near Obuasi, we saw galamsey happening on the ground, so we decided to have a look at what they were doing. When we stopped and walked into the area, as we were getting closer, they were running away, and all of them had left by the time we got there.
So we looked around for what we could pick, and we did pick. While leaving, we saw that there were actually more of the excavators than the three that were inside a river body; they had mined in the river and blocked it in such a way that it had taken different tributaries around the area and flooded some places. It was messy. It was really a bad situation. So we had actually gone to the car and used another route to the place, and while we were there, the people also ran. We called them to come, and just before we could have a conversation, they sent news around, and soon we saw built men; a number of them came with guns.
We had the military with us, and the national security was also with us, but then we saw that we couldn’t exchange fire or fight them, so we had to run for our lives. In the course of running and speeding on the road, we encountered this accident.
One of the cars, which had some EPA staff and some of the journalists, had a head-on collision with a truck that was actually carrying some pipes for galamsey operations.
Some of the heavily built men were dressed in black with ‘CID’ written at the back. The soldiers and the national security men asked them for their ID cards, but it became confrontational, and so we had to leave because they said they could not overpower them, so we had to leave.
While they were having the confrontation, we got intel from Accra that we should leave immediately, where we were and that even the route we planned to take, we should not use it again, and we should not return on the same route we came from Kumasi to Obuasi. So we had to use another route altogether, much longer, through the Western Region and the Central Region to Kumasi. But just before we reached Kumasi, that’s when we had the head-on collision.
Medical Attention and Support
She further appealed to the doctors and nurses handling the journalists and EPA staff involved in the accident to pay special attention to them. She stated that they were involved in the accident while on national duty, hence her call for special medical attention.
She said, “We thank God that we all have our lives now. It is just unfortunate that we have some injuries. The most critical one is a broken thigh, which is one of the Joy TV cameramen. Your correspondent, Abubakar, has some chest pains and is responding to treatment. Adom TV’s correspondent had a head injury; he is also responding to treatment. Then we have some EPA staff who were also involved in the accident; they are all responding to treatment. We have discussed with the doctors and nurses in charge to pay special attention to them because we were on a national assignment before this unfortunate incident happened.”
Presidential Response
Meanwhile, President John Mahama has sent well wishes to the journalists who got injured in an accident that occurred when they were fleeing from an attack by illegal miners, disclosing that he had tasked the Chief of Staff to check on their state of health and ensure that the bills are catered for by the state.
“When I heard the news, I informed my Chief of Staff to find out how they are doing and ensure that all their bills are taken care of,” President Mahama said at the 29th Media Awards being held at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi on Saturday, November 8, 2025.
Reports indicate that the convoy of the EPA team was initially attacked by a group of illegal miners at Dadwene, a community near Obuasi. The severity of the attack reportedly forced the EPA team and the accompanying media personnel to retreat.
Among the journalists involved was Ibrahim Abubakar, the Ashanti Regional Correspondent of Media General, but he is fine.
President Mahama also assured that communities that attack state anti-galamsey teams will be dealt with.
“Let me tell communities that attack the government officials that firm action will be taken against them,” the President warned.