PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE KUSAUG YOUTH MOVEMENT ON THE RECENT CATTLE RUSTLING BY MAMPRUSIS IN BAWKU
Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, fellow Ghanaians, and all guests. I wish to thank you all for honouring our short invitation to this all-important press conference.
This press conference has been necessitated by the recent happenings that have confounded us all and which need to be brought to the attention of all well-meaning Ghanaians and beyond.
On Thursday, 16th June 2022, at about 7:30 am, the residents of Gozesi, a suburb of Bawku Municipal had the shock of their lives when a group of Mamprusi men numbering about thirty(30), all dressed in yellow attire led by one Mamboda (more), Hamidu Halidu, and Amande (Abinchi) nicodemously sloped into the nearby valley dividing Bawku township and the Gozesi community. These cohorts had intended to steal the cattle away whilst the cattle were grazing in the field. Their collective attempt as community members to prevent these shameless thieves didn't yield results. This was because, the Mamprusis, by their diabolical and thievery skills from birth, had misled the Military stationed close to grazing fields to protect them. With their superior mischievous schemes, the military men were deceived into believing that, the animals belonged to them-Mamprusis; and that they needed military protection to send the cattle to their homestead. What a wicked plan! The group of the unsuspecting military men opened fire on the rightful owners(Kusasis) to disperse them for the thieves to make their way through. This forced the community members to flee for their lives, and paved the way for the Mamprusis to flee with 26 cattle belonging to the residents of the Gozesi community.
A report was subsequently lodged with the Bawku Police and a joint search was conducted across the Mamprusi community in the evening of that day. They managed to retrieve only five cattle by night. The following day, one bull also managed to escape and returned to the owner making a total of six retrieved cattle. Subsequent searches conducted by security forces only retrieved an abundance of meat from some of the cattle that had been already slaughtered by the Mamprusis thieves. Several arrests have been made, and by the time of this press release, we are reliably informed that seven of the Mamprusi thieves have been arrested. Some of them include; Alhaji Awudu of Kpalore, Abinchi Amande of south Natinga, Sumaila (ACC) of Kpalore, Aide of Sagabo and Nashiru of Patilmi.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, it is instructive to note that since the Mamprusis nurtured and reignited violence in this town in the name of chieftaincy dispute, which had long been settled by the Supreme Court in 2003, they continued to engage in provocative acts at every opportune time all geared towards ensuring that peace continues to elude the good people of Bawku and Ghanaians as a whole. At the time the President of Kusaug Youth Movement and his team were planning to visit schools and communities within the Municipality to preach peace and had already visited Bawku Senior High and Bawku Senior High Technical Schools to assure them of the need to concentrate on their studies and do not allow the conflict to distract them irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds, the Mamprusis were also busily hatching plans and contemplating on how to rustle cattle. This shows that the evil activities of the Mamprusis have reached a new crescendo. This also clearly demonstrates how different we are from them. Since the conflict started decades ago, there are no records available which indicate that the Kusasis and the other good ethnic groups are thieves. It baffles us that, the Mamprusis, after falling flat of a claim of skin bearers, have resorted to armed robbery, stealing of animals and breaking into stores at night during curfew hours. Yes, we may understand their hunger and plight being the product of their folly and recalcitrance, but there is dignity in begging for food than shamefully stealing.
Despite calls by well-meaning Ghanaians including His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana, the Minister of Interior, the government white paper read by the chieftaincy Minister, and more recently, the vivid statement issued by the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs in respect to the Bawku issue. All these have failed to bring peace, the Mamprusis remain adamant and rather prefer bad-mouthing those urging them to be law-abiding.
We, therefore, wish to appeal to the security agencies to conduct thorough investigations and to ensure that all those who had engaged in this ungodly act of cattle rustling are identified and punished. Judging from the way they conducted themselves, it is obvious that they are all part of those trained and used to visit violence and mayhem on the people of Bawku. Fishing them out and punishing them will not only serve as a deterrent to others but will also help stump out violence, lawlessness and anarchy in Bawku and its environs.
The Security agencies must stop listening, accepting and acting on unverified wholesale information. It cost them nothing to always investigate before acting. We thought the military and police in Bawku here for peacekeeping would've known the Mamprusis and their nefarious plans better by now and don't fall to their ploy. MEN in uniform, please, the Kusasis are not fighting for anything, we are always defending ourselves from aggressors.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, it is very obvious that as the days pass by, the chance of retrieving more live cattle becomes slimmer. We, therefore, wish to appeal to the government to compensate those who may not be able to retrieve their cattle alive. This is because the action of the military by dispelling residents of Gozesi was what enabled those Mamprusis bandits to escape with the cattle. We are not by any means trying to put any blame on the military as their good work on the ground is clear for all to see, including their relentless efforts, in collaboration with the police, to get the cattle retrieved. But, we, however, believe that since they have been deployed here by the government, any act of omission or commission on their part should be borne by the government. Besides, we are aware that, individuals somewhere are trying their best to suppress this issue. We keenly follow this narrative and anything contrary to the truth will not meet palatability. Culprits must be made to pay off in cash equivalence of several animals that have already made their way through the jaws to the stomach of the Mamprusis.
In conclusion, we wish to entreat the residents of Gozesi to remain calm as the security agencies continue to investigate the issue. We would also like to appeal to everyone to co-operate with the security agencies and be law-abiding in order to ensure that lasting peace returns to Bawku. To the media, we thank you once again and wish to express the hope that you will help spread our message to the good people of Ghana as well as all those who matter.
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