Traditional leaders and residents of Manso Tontokrom in the Amansie South District of the Ashanti Region have descended heavily on JoyNews environmental journalist, Erastus Asare Donkor, accusing him of tarnishing the image of the community through unfair, unverified and damaging reportage.
They threatened to invoke traditional curses against the journalist if he fails to visit the community and apologise for reports and social media publications they said have portrayed community as a haven of alleged illegal mining and lawlessness.
Led by Nana Kwaku Gyamfi II, the elders accused Mr Asare Donkor of making unsubstantiated allegations that residents had dug dangerous mining pits in which people had died, demanding that he provide evidence to support the claims.
They argued that the journalist had failed to exercise the necessary diligence by verifying the allegations and giving the community an opportunity to respond before publishing them.
“If the media continues to do this, it is not fair.
JoyNews, if you hear anything, you must take your time and verify it. You claim that we dug pits and people died in those pits. Where?” the elders questioned.
They further alleged that the journalist’s reportage had been influenced by personal disagreements, after he had previously approached them and they refused to meet his alleged demands.
The elders have given Mr Asare Donkor an ultimatum to appear before the community and render an unqualified apology to its traditional leadership and residents.
They warned that failure to comply by the close of the day would compel them to invoke traditional curses against him, insisting that their deities and spiritual forces would intervene.
“If by close of today Erastus Asare Donkor fails to come to the community and render an apology to the whole community, we will curse him,” they declared.
The elders maintained that they had confidence in their traditional deities and spiritual forces, including the river they believe protects the community, to deliver justice.
“We live here with the gods, our river is here, and they are protecting us. Since we have not done anything wrong, but he is destroying us, the gods will judge him,” they added.
They alleged that the journalist’s publications were intended to advance the interests of a foreign mining company operating in the area.
According to them, the community’s indigenous miners were being unfairly targeted while foreign interests were allegedly being promoted at their expense.
The outburst follows a series of Facebook posts by Mr Asare Donkor in which he accused Manso Tontokrom of being a stronghold of illegal mining, backed by powerful political interests.
“There is a lot of political backing for the deep-seated galamsey in Manso Tontokrom.
That’s why miners will dare soldiers. NAIMOS indeed restrained itself.
That jinx must be broken,” he wrote.
In another post, he described Tontokrom as a community where illegal mining was carried out openly, allegedly without effective enforcement of environmental laws.
“Manso Tontokrom is the only town where Galamsey has taken seed. Even soldiers are afraid of enforcing environmental laws in that town. Galamsey is done glaringly,” he stated.
The elders, however, insist that their grievances are not intended to shield illegal mining operators or prevent journalists from reporting on environmental violations but to demand accuracy, fairness and the right of affected communities to respond to allegations.
Meanwhile, some miners and residents of Tontokrom have also threatened to invoke traditional curses against Mr Asare Donkor if he fails to substantiate allegations that local leaders and miners have been paying to prevent security personnel from clamping down on illegal mining in the area.
They challenged the journalist to produce evidence of the alleged payments, insisting that the accusations were serious and should not be made without verifiable proof.
The visibly agitated residents questioned why Mr Asare Donkor had not publicly presented evidence of the alleged financial inducements if he was convinced that military personnel had been compromised to protect illegal miners.
“Our issue with that boy, Erastus Asare Donkor, is that he is talking out of hunger. That is why he is doing and saying what he is saying and doing,” one of the residents alleged.
The miners further accused the journalist of advancing positions they believe favour foreign mining interests at the expense of indigenous communities, particularly regarding access to Ghana’s mineral resources.
They questioned why local people should be prevented from benefiting from the country’s mineral wealth while foreign companies were allegedly allowed to undertake mining operations.
The residents also challenged Mr Asare Donkor to publicly declare whether he had ever received money from illegal miners, warning that any evidence of such conduct would have serious traditional consequences.
They insisted that if the journalist had taken money from illegal miners while accusing others of similar conduct, he should be prepared to face the consequences of the traditional sanctions they threatened to invoke.
