Lawyer Nsowah Writes: What Really Happened at Manso Keniago?
On Wednesday, 11th November 2026, the quiet community of Manso Keniago in the Amansie South District of the Ashanti Region became the site of a preventable tragedy.
What began as a routine anti-illegal mining operation by the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) ended in a bloodbath that claimed at least five lives, left over a dozen others injured, and shattered the community’s faith in the very institutions sworn to protect them.
As a legal practitioner and a son of Manso Ayirebikrom – a neighbouring community in the same district – I write not with the dispassionate detachment of a distant observer, but with the grave concern of a citizen who knows the terrain, the people, and the devastating cost of this avoidable loss of life.
The Facts and the Conflicting Accounts
The undisputed facts are harrowing. NAIMOS personnel had seized an excavator during an operation and were transporting it through Manso Keniago along a tarred government road to a designated location for safekeeping.
The community’s account, articulated by the Krontihene, Nana Boateng, and the Youth Representative, Bernard Ntiamoah, is that the chief and residents questioned the manner of conveyance – specifically, why the heavy equipment was being driven directly on the tarred road rather than being transported on a low-bed trailer, which they feared would damage the community’s road.
It was on this day, a day set aside by custom for the people of Manso Keniago to remain at home in quiet reflection, that the chief and his elders had gathered to discuss community progress.
NAIMOS, however, presents a starkly different narrative. Their spokesperson, Paa Kwesi Schandorf, claims the task force encountered an “armed mob” that attempted to forcibly obstruct the lawful movement of the seized equipment, prompting personnel to fire warning shots. This version of events is not only contested by the community but is fundamentally contradicted by the physical reality on the ground and the basic principles of logic.
The Implausibility of the “Armed Mob” Narrative
The assertion that the residents of Manso Keniago constituted an “armed mob” is deeply problematic. The people of Keniago are not weaponized and possess no capacity to confront a state security task force. If the residents had genuinely intended to attack NAIMOS, they would have done so at the various mining sites where the excavator was initially seized – locations where the equipment was vulnerable – and not in the middle of their own community where the operation had already been completed and the equipment was being transported.
Furthermore, the account from the Assembly Member, Charles Oduro, directly undermines NAIMOS’s self-defence claim. Oduro reported that a police officer who was present and attempting to de-escalate the situation was himself struck by NAIMOS gunfire.
This detail is critical: it suggests a indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force that endangered even the law enforcement officers sent to keep the peace. The community’s counter-narrative also alleges that NAIMOS personnel physically assaulted a chief and fired directly at his vehicle. If true, these are acts of aggression, not self-defence.
The Legal Impossibility of a Self-Defence Claim
Even if we were to entertain NAIMOS’s version of events for a moment, their claim of self-defence collapses under the weight of Ghanaian law. For a plea of self-defence to succeed under Section 37 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), the force used must be reasonably necessary and, crucially, proportionate to the threat faced. The law does not permit the use of lethal force to protect property or to disperse a crowd unless there is an imminent threat of death or serious injury.
The constitutional framework reinforces this. Article 13(2) of the 1992 Constitution permits the use of force resulting in death only to “such an extent as is reasonably justifiable in the particular circumstances”. Ghanaian courts have consistently held that the force used by law enforcement must be “strictly proportionate to the achievement of the permitted purpose”.
In the Manso Keniago incident, there is no credible evidence that the residents were armed with any weapons, let alone weapons capable of posing an imminent threat of death to NAIMOS personnel. The mere act of questioning the transportation of an excavator – even if done with some agitation – does not justify a lethal response.
The law is clear: you cannot shoot an unarmed person simply because they are obstructing your path or because you perceive them as a nuisance.
As legal commentator Afia Pokua (Vim Lady) aptly noted in a different but relevant context, “The law doesn’t say that because of self-defence, you can shoot someone”.
The Constitutional Duty to Protect Life
Article 13(1) of the 1992 Constitution is unequivocal: “No person shall be deprived of his life intentionally except in the exercise of the execution of a sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence under the laws of Ghana of which he has been convicted”. The right to life is the most fundamental of all human rights, and it is not a privilege that can be capriciously taken away by state operatives.
The government has a constitutional mandate to protect its citizens, not to infringe upon their lives. The deaths at Manso Keniago are a direct violation of this sacred duty.
The aftermath of the tragedy has only deepened the community’s pain. The death toll has risen to at least five, with some reports suggesting six, and over a dozen people are receiving treatment at St. Martin’s Hospital.
The youth of Manso Keniago, in their grief and anger, nearly attacked the District Chief Executive during his visit, reflecting a profound breakdown of trust between the community and local authorities.
The chief, Nana Obeng Mensah Ababio II, has challenged NAIMOS to produce evidence to justify the operation and has insisted that his people did not attack first.
A Call for an Immediate, Independent Investigation
In light of the foregoing, I, Samuel Boateng Nsowah, Esq., on behalf of the grieving community of MansoKeniago and all right-thinking citizens of Ghana, call upon:
Conclusion
The people of Manso Keniago are not against the fight against illegal mining. They, like all Ghanaians, desire a clean environment and the protection of our natural resources. But the fight against galamsey cannot and must not be waged through the extrajudicial killing of unarmed citizens. The operations of NAIMOS must be conducted within the bounds of the law, with the utmost respect for human life and dignity. What happened at Manso Keniago is not a collateral damage of law enforcement; it is a massacre that demands justice. The blood of the innocent cries out from the ground. It is my fervent hope that the government will heed this call and act swiftly to ensure that the rule of law prevails and that the right to life, enshrined in Article 13 of our Constitution, is upheld for every Ghanaian, regardless of where they live.
Samuel Boateng Nsowah, Esq.
Legal Practitioner & Concerned Citizen of Manso Ayirebikrom, Amansie South District
