News
President Mahama meets Kantamanto traders
President John Dramani Mahama has reached out to traders affected by the recent fire at Kantamanto Market in Accra.
The President in a meeting with the traders today, January 12, 2025, acknowledged the heavy loss and assured them of his administration’s support.
He said “One of the first things we need to do is to prevent these outbreaks from happening. In some cases, it might be due to long wiring and the use of inferior materials.”
He continued to say,“But in some cases, we cannot rule out what we call arson, that is people deliberately setting fire to cause destruction.”
Recounting similar situations in the past, he said, “I remember it happened before in 2013, when I was sworn in as president,there were market fires in almost every market which was quite unusual, and in many cases, the investigations show that people deliberately set fire to just cause chaos and confusion.”
He therefore said, “We need to look at how to prevent it from happening again, how to alleviate their plight, and how the market should be rebuilt.”
“We held a meeting with the security heads today to see how we can tighten security around all the major markets to prevent any such occurrence,” he added.
The President in the meeting with the traders concluded by saying “Just this morning we heard about the Techiman market fire, so it looks like something which is going to continue and we need to take quick steps to address it. We are asking the Fire Service to deploy fire tenders close to where there are major markets at night and installation of CCTV cameras at various markets.”
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
A 30-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour by the Bekwai Circuit Court for his role in a 2022 robbery at a mining site at Manso Akwasiso in the Ashanti South Region.
The convict, Dominic Ofori, also known as Fanta, was arrested on 16th February 2026 after years on the run. He pleaded guilty before the Bekwai Circuit Court to robbery contrary to Section 149 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 Act 29, and was accordingly sentenced to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour.
On March 20, 2022, the Manso Adubia District Police received intelligence that a group of armed men from Manso Abodom were planning to attack a mining site at Manso Akwasiso to rob the owner of gold concentrate. Acting on the information, police mounted a coordinated operation and laid an ambush at the site.
At about 5:30 pm the same day, four-armed men arrived at the site, fired indiscriminately, and robbed the miners of their gold concentrate. The police team on surveillance intervened, resulting in an exchange of gunfire.
Three of the suspects, Abu Abubakar, Musah Latif, and Gideon Takyi, sustained gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead on arrival at St Martins Catholic Hospital at Agroyesum. Dominic Ofori escaped at the time but was later arrested and put before the court.
The Ashanti South Regional Police Command has assured the public of its continued commitment to combating violent crimes and bringing offenders to justice.
The Ashanti Regional Police Command has arrested 45-year-old Isaac Boafo, also known as “Duabo King,” for allegedly publishing false news intended to cause fear and panic.
Police said the arrest follows a viral TikTok video in which Boafo claimed that four officers at the Central Police Station in Kumasi engaged in inappropriate conduct with commercial sex workers during night patrols in Asafo.
Officers from the Police Intelligence Directorate (Ashanti Region) apprehended Boafo after receiving intelligence about the video.
During questioning, he admitted to creating the video to attract views and engagement online, and acknowledged that he could not prove the allegations.
Boafo also admitted making comments about the President of the Republic for content purposes and could not defend those statements.
He has been formally charged and is in detention as investigations continue.
The Ashanti Regional Police have warned the public against publishing or sharing false information on social media, noting that such acts can cause fear, panic, and damage reputations.
They said anyone found engaging in similar conduct will face legal action.
By: Jacob Aggrey
