Chief’s u-turn on galamsey angers and divides Anyinasin

Once hailed as a hero for vowing to defend his people against illegal mining, Osabarima Attah Appiahkorang Agyei, the chief of Akyem Anyinasin in the Eastern Region now faces angry protests from the very people who once revered him.

For 87-year-old Maame Abre Nkrumah, the heartbreak is personal. For decades, she took great pride in cocoa farming, which sustained her and her family. But in the last ten years, she has watched with sorrow as many surrounding villages were destroyed by illegal mining.

Her fears deepened in 2024 when an illegal miner began operations near the village’s water source and farmlands. Maame Abre worried that their farms would soon be lost. Those fears, however, were eased when Osabarima Attah Appiahkorang Agyei II, took a firm and principled stand against illegal mining.

“If you come and mine in my village and destroy our water, it will be a shoot-and-kill scenario,” Nana Appiahkorang Agyei said in an interview with Net 2 TV. “If you invade my village to mine, then please make a will because you will not return.”

Nana Appiahkorang’s defiance inspired a movement. Villagers rallied behind him to burn excavators at an illegal mining site, convinced their chief would defend their lands at all costs.

Weeks later, in an interview on Angel TV, the chief explained that he acted because his people were farmers and he wanted to protect their land. Maame Abre Nkrumah said she bowed before him and blessed him, “You have done well. I am glad we have you as a chief,” she reportedly told him. Another resident, Regina Agyei, recalled: “Our chief told us to even buy guns for protection. Illegal miners are always armed, so we should be prepared. We supported him wholly.”

But today, Osabarima Attah Appiahkorang Agyei II, who was once regarded as a hero, is now seen as a villain. The same residents who once hailed their chief now accuse him of betrayal, claiming the man who vowed to fight galamsey is quietly opening the gates to miners. Akyem Anyinasin is now simmering with tension.

The people’s disenchantment began when the chief called a community meeting, where he informed residents that an investor wanted to mine in Anyinasin. “We should engage them so that we allow them to do responsible mining, but he must agree to carry out development projects in our village first,” he told them.

His words shocked residents who had taken his earlier vow as sacred. “They come and say ‘responsible mining,’ but before you know it, they will destroy all our farms and water bodies,” fumed Opanin Kwabena Gyimah, an elder.

The chief argued that his stance was about bringing development to his community, which will be his legacy for the people. “The salary I receive as a policeman cannot develop my community. I want a good hospital for our people. I want a good market as well as schools. I can’t sit on wealth and allow my people to wallow in poverty,” he said in an interview with The Fourth Estate. He also revealed, both to his people and later to The Fourth Estate, that he was under pressure from politicians, fellow chiefs, and even pastors to allow mining. Still, he claimed he had resisted.

But in his view, resisting forever would only leave the community under-developed and worse of. “If we refuse to allow mining, in the future we may have to yield, and we will not gain anything from it,” he argues.

Many residents disagree. “We know we have challenges here, but if our chief feels he can only make an impact by allowing miners, then he should abdicate the throne,” countered Nana Yaa, another resident.

The chief however claimed at the meeting that some community members had already begun selling off their farmlands, and he could not stop them. This remark only deepened the mistrust. When the meeting ended without a clear resolution, residents hooted at him in anger as he walked out. They later wrote to invite him to a press conference, but he ignored the letter.

Meanwhile, the village is already bearing the scars of mining. On farms close to a stream that once irrigated farmlands, illegal miners have dug deep, gaping holes, some wide enough to swallow a house. Rainwater now collects in them, forming stagnant pools. On one side, heaps of crushed stones rise like small hills where cocoa trees and food crops once thrived. The fertile topsoil has been stripped away, leaving behind raw gravel and sand that cannot sustain life.

Alarmed, villagers organised a protest march, declaring they would not permit any mining, “responsible” or otherwise. Some accused the chief of taking a bribe. He denied it in an interview with The Fourth Estate. “When you come to see a chief, you don’t come empty-handed. You must bring at least two bottles of schnapps and whatever money you deem fit for the stool. This is tradition, not a bribe,” he insisted.

To show their discontent, residents have begun wearing red and black T-shirts in periodic protests. William Boakye, convenor of the anti-mining group, led a march to one of the sites. The pits had been abandoned, but telltale signs remained.

“Look at the spent shells,” he said, pointing to bullet casings scattered on the ground. “This shows the people mining here illegally are armed.” Pointing to the gaping, flooded holes, he added: “cocoa can last on the land for decades. But it won’t take two years for them to finish mining the gold. After that, our land will be destroyed forever. Our plea is that the government should reserve these lands for farming.”

The residents fear for their future. For Maame Abre Nkrumah, the heartbreak is personal. The woman who once bowed in gratitude now shakes her head in disbelief.

“Let your yes be yes and your no be no,” she says. “We all believed him, so now what happened? If our forefathers destroyed our land, will there be any land today?”

Maxwell Larbi, a native of Anyinasin who now works in Accra but frequently visits his hometown, says the news of the chief reconsidering his mining stance shocked him, so he decided to join the protestors.

He said the community is extremely concerned because their chief has now abandoned them to their fate. So now they have turned to the President to stop the Minerals Commission from issuing any licence in Anyinasin. “We are scared because individuals have already sold their lands. It is only a matter of time. Then what we feared will happen,” he said.

But the chief maintains he has not given any miner permission to mine, but he also wants his people to be open to the idea of professional mining, which he says will benefit the community. Although he swears his stance against illegal mining has not changed, he claims that the people who are against him are few. However, his people also maintain that those who support mining are not indigenes of Anyinasin but settlers who have no ties to the community.

As trust between the chief and his people has almost collapsed, residents have turned to the government, pleading with the President and the Minerals Commission not to issue any licences. Until then, the illegal miners continue to work in the dead of the night.