"Insecurity in Sawla- Tuna-Kalba" on ascendancy

Robbery, murder and other related violence are allegedly on the ascendancy in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District of the Northern Region since 2016 and there is no sign of them reducing.
The Birifor Youth Association, (BYA) which made the observation at a news conference in Wa indicated that the Ghana Police Service which is “constitutionally mandated” to maintain law and order as well as protect life and property has “not done enough to engender confidence in of the people of theDistrict.
The group also claimed that some police personnel “have been complicit in some of the cases”.
The news conference which was addressed by the National President of the Birifor Youth Association, Joseph Tii Dari called on the Minister of The Interior and the Inspector General of Police, (IGP) to see to it that investigations are conducted for“justice to be served.”
A report by GBC’s Emmanuel Mensah-Abludohas it that the President of Birifor Youth Association, Mr. Dari cataloguea number of incidents in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District to buttress thefear and insecurity of the people and zeroed down on an incident on the July 31, 2018 at Gbaalteng resulting in the death of a civilian and shooting of a police man in the arm.
He said in the early hours July 31, 2018, some thieves went and emptied a “cattle kraal” at Gbaalteng andsome residents traced the footprints of the thieves and met them loadingthe cattle in a vehicle in the bush.
According to Mr. Dari, “upon seeingthe community members, the thieves ran away leaving the car (vehicle) behind.”
“Moments later, the thieves rather brought police, claiming they were being chased by armed robbers,” he added.
Two police men who were on a motor bike together with one of the thieves, got to the scene and without any attempt to find out what had happened, opened fire, killing one man and in self-defense one of the police men was shotin the arm.
Mr. Dari stated that: “The incident led to the torching (burning) a vehicle suspected to belong to the robbers by the rsidents. ”When the Damango District Police Commander, (ASP), Gladstone Kumeko who is now supervising Sawla in the absence of the substantive Commander was reached out to on phone, he said the alleged complicity of the police has not been established as investigations were still on-going at the Regional headquarters in Tamale.
The Police Commandersaid he was in Tuna and had information that the Gbaalteng community was accusing the police of either being part of the robbery or shieldingthe robbers but the police said they only responded to a distress call ofthe driver and nothing else.
On the insecurity in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District, ASP Kumeko pointed out that vast nature of the District is making the criminals recalcitrant but the police are not relenting intaking the fight to them and called for support from all interested parties.
Report by Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo