Three persons have been arrested following a violent confrontation between youth groups at Pankrono and Ahwiaa Adabraka in the Kwabre East Municipalities of the Ashanti region.
The violence led to the death of 27-year-old Kwame Owusu.
GBC’s correspondent, Nicholas Osei-Wusu, reports that the Police have restored calm to both communities.
Information gathered by GBC News during a visit to the two communities on Thursday, October 19, 2023, suggests that there has been a lingering tension between the youth of Pankrono and Ahwiaa Adabraka.
Pankrono is the border community of the Tafo Municipality separated only by a junction from Adabraka in the Kwabre East Municipality, thus making them very close neighbours.
The actual reason for the long-standing tension has still not been established.
Despite the situation, residents of both communities are on good terms and occasionally play friendly football matches. One such match was played between the youth groups of Pankrono and their counterparts from Adabraka on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, hosted by Pankrono.
According to reports, Pankrono won the match, but supporters of the visiting team went on a rampage after the match. Upon reaching Pankrono Market, as they walked back to their community, one Kwame Owusu, aged 27, was allegedly attacked and stabbed with a sharp object believed to be a pair of scissors at about 6.30 p.m., while the assailants ran away.
Kwame Owusu was then rushed to the Tafo Government Hospital, where he died on admission. The youth of Pankrono then became incensed by the development and started agitation with plans to take revenge. It took a swift deployment of Police personnel from the Tafo-Pankrono Police Division and their colleagues from Mamponteng to avert a possible violent clash and further bloodshed.
At the time GBC News arrived at Pankrono, there was a heavy Police presence under the command of the Divisional Commander, ACP Stephen Kwakye, to calm down the tension.
A visit to the residence of the deceased Kwame Owusu saw friends and sympathisers who had come to mourn with the family. The mother of the deceased, Madam Ama Afreh, told GBC News that his late son was scheduled to leave Kumasi for Qatar and that his untimely death has left her very devastated.
A follow-up visit to Adabraka showed an appreciable Police presence to maintain peace. Here, there were pieces of evidence of destruction to private property by the irate youth.
One of the victims, a dealer in automobile lubricants, Amadu Mumuni, said, aside from the destruction of his wares without any provocation, the assailants allegedly stole his sales made from Tuesday until the morning of the incident.
An opinion leader of Pankrono, Nana Osei Agyemang Prempeh, whose intervention is said to have averted immediate revenge, highly commended the professionalism exhibited by the Police in bringing the tension down.
For now, some residents of both Pankrono and Adabraka have expressed fear that, if duty-bearers do not find a long-lasting resolution to the differences between the two communities, there could be reprisals and counterattacks. They urged leaders of both communities to act swiftly to ensure sustainable peace in the two towns.