Group demands exit of herdsmen, release of residents arrested

The Bongo-Soe Community Association for Development (BONSCAD) in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region is demanding an unconditional release of eleven persons from police custody and a discontinuation of their trial over an alleged attack on some nomadic herdsmen in the community.

The group has also given a one-month ultimatum to all nomadic herdsmen in the Bongo-Soe community to vacate from the community or incur their wrath.

The group alleged that three nomadic herdsmen attacked one, Nsoh Atia a native of the community who was returning from fishing at a riverside on March 28, 2023, and broke his leg.

The incident led to a reprisal attack on the herdsmen by community members resulting in the arrest of eleven persons who are currently standing trial at the Bolgatanga high court.

But addressing a press conference in Bongo-Soe, the chiefs and community members described the basis for the arrest and prosecution of the eleven persons as baseless and thus demanded their immediate release.

Spokesperson for the group, Vitus Azeem, said, the nomadic herdsmen in the community have a month window to vacate the community or incur their wrath.

“That all the young men that were arrested should be released unconditionally and immediately and the prosecution discontinued. The police should investigate and bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to book and that, the Assembly foots the medical bills of the injured young man and retrieves his motorbike and mobile phone for him”.

“The Fulani herdsmen should pack away from Bongo-Soe in the next one month. They are roaming herdsmen that should not try to make Bongo-Soe their permanent home, especially as they are clearly making an attempt to seize our land. We wish to make it clear that the Chiefs, Assembly members and elders of Bongo-Soe can no longer assure the safety of the Fulani herdsmen if they do not vacate the community”.

But Bongo District Chief Executive, Rita Atanga, who expressed worry about the incident assured that her outfit has begun working assiduously with key stakeholders to find a lasting solution to the impasse.

“The District Security Committee (DISEC) has visited the affected young man and the nomadic herdsmen and appealed to them to engage the youth to calm down as we find a lasting solution to the issue. We started engaging some opinion leaders in the community, and it is continuing till next week.”

“So, I want to assure the people of Bongo-Soe that we are not sleeping over the matter and I as the DCE, cannot be happy about what is happening to my brothers and sisters, so together we can resolve it and I promise that we will resolve it together. I wouldn’t say their demands are out of place, but we will together work on it to see how we can bring peace to the community. So their demands are being heard, DISEC will go into it and as the DCE it is of interest to me, and we will definitely find a solution to it”.

Meanwhile, the eleven persons standing trial at the Bolgatanga high court will re-appear in court on April 17, 2023.