NAIMOS and the Manso Keniago chief blame each other for Wednesday's shooting, as local officials give conflicting death tolls with no police confirmation.

Published 12 Nov 2026, 10:10 GMT

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Two NAIMOS personnel were shot and residents were killed as a task force moved seized excavators out of the Amansie South community on Wednesday, November 11. 3News reported the confrontation from Dome Keniago and the wounded operatives the same day.

The secretariat's account

In a statement signed by spokesperson Paa Kwesi Schandorf, NAIMOS said its task force met an armed mob that tried to forcibly stop the convoy, and that officers fired warning shots.

"Unfortunately, two personnel sustained gunshot wounds in the incident," the statement said. It did not say who fired the shots that wounded the officers.

In a Facebook update the same day, Schandorf said "3 persons have been confirmed dead", with two NAIMOS personnel injured.

The community's account

Nana Obeng Mensah Ababio II, the chief of Manso Keniago, rejected that version at a media address on Thursday.

"I want to put it on record that residents of Manso Keniago did not attack NAIMOS first. It was NAIMOS officials who attacked them first... I am backed by the gods, and I cannot lie," he said.

He said he had engaged the security personnel after seeing an excavator being moved.

A statement from the traditional authorities and residents, signed by Krontihene Nana Boateng and youth representative Bernard Ntiamoah, said the excavator was not seized in the town, and that residents only questioned why it was driven along a tarred government road.

It alleged the chief was assaulted and shots fired at his vehicle, and asked President John Dramani Mahama and the Inspector-General of Police to investigate independently.

"We are not against the fight against illegal mining, but we firmly oppose any unlawful use of force against innocent citizens," it said.

The disputed toll

The district's Chief Executive, Benjamin Marfo, told a local radio station three people died and 14 were injured, possibly 16, and promised an inquiry.

Assembly member Charles Oduro, speaking after visiting the injured at St Martin's Hospital, put the toll at four dead and 15 injured, and said a police officer trying to calm things was also hit.

By Thursday morning, the Ashanti Regional Police Command had not published a casualty figure, and no hospital tally had been released.

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Manso Keniago clash: NAIMOS and chief disagree over who fired first

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