News
4 in trouble for killing 10-year-old elephant
Four persons are in the grips of the police in the Sissala East Municipality for allegedly killing an elephant.
DSP Gbelle Kumpe, the Municipal Police Commander, told the GNA that the four would be arraigned before court for allegedly killing the elephant at the Gbele Game Reserve.
“There was a report from the Forestry Commission that an elephant was killed and on May 20, 2020, after an investigation, we carried out a raid and 12 persons were arrested and a search conducted revealed the tail of the elephant and other body parts; we also retrieved three guns from them.”
He said the four were alleged to have participated in the killing of the elephant and that the tusk of the elephant was later dumped behind the Bugubelle Police Station.
DSP Kumpe said the four who were currently on police enquiry bail would be sent to Wa for prosecution, if their dockets were ready.
“There is an attack on the forest and its resources and my advice for all, is to stop depleting the forest or else if you get caught you would not be spared,” he said.
DSP Kumpe said the lack of cooperation from the public was disturbing saying, “there is low cooperation from the public and that is the lifestyle of some of the people here, they have the habit of harbouring criminals” and urged all to support the police.
The Park Manager of the Gbele Reserve, Dr Owusu Ansah in an interview said, “It was in connection with the killing of a ten-year-old elephant whose ivory market value could cost $10,000.00, which motivated the poachers to kill the young elephant.”
He said a kilogramme of the ivory is about 2,000 dollars and the ivory recovered is about 20 kilos, and added that “for anybody to kill an elephant the motivation will be to get the ivory sold, which is very valuable.”
Dr Owusu said that “elephant hunting had been banned since 1989; in the past, Ghana had more elephants than Burkina Faso, according to the literature, but we have made the place inhabitable for them due to attacks.”
Sissala area still remains their route into the Nazinga Forest Reserve in Burkina Faso and every year they come around for visit, which hunters take advantage of to kill them. GNA
The Second Deputy Minority Whip, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, has defended the conduct of the Minority in Parliament during Tuesday’s chaotic sitting, insisting their actions were to protect what they believe is a violation of parliamentary procedure.
Explaining the incident, he said the Minority was reacting to developments surrounding a letter which allegedly directed that a seat belonging to the MP for Kpandai be declared vacant despite an earlier ruling by the Speaker.
He argued that the Speaker’s ruling should stand unless overturned by a competent court, and described the sudden reversal as shocking and against parliamentary precedent.
Mr Ahmed said the Minority only attempted to make a statement to register their displeasure, but tensions rose when the Majority Leader insisted on responding instead of commenting, which he said was against the rules.
He also denied claims that Minority MPs crossed the aisle, stressing that they remained within their side and only sought the Speaker’s attention.
He further complained that during proceedings, the Mace—the symbol of authority in the House—was not present and Minority microphones were disconnected, making the process one-sided.
He said the caucus intends to continue pushing to ensure that the MP for Kpandai retains his seat, adding that their next steps will be strategic.
By: Jacob Aggrey
President John Mahama has stated that it is too early for anyone to call for the scrapping of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) despite recent controversies surrounding the institution.
He argued that the office remains an important part of Ghana’s fight against corruption.
He explained that government is strengthening anti-corruption bodies such as the Economic and Organised Crime Office and the OSP, noting that the OSP is the only agency with the power to independently prosecute cases without going through the Attorney General.
President Mahama said many people distrust the Attorney General’s office because it is headed by a government minister, and some fear it may be slow to prosecute its own.
He believes an independent body like the OSP offers stronger accountability, regardless of who is involved.
He admitted that citizens want to see more prosecutions and visible results, but urged the public to give the OSP time.
He encouraged the office to speed up its investigations to show that it remains relevant in the fight against corruption.
By: Jacob Aggrey
