Assemblyman for the Apremede-Oseikrom Electoral Area, Mannah Mustapha, says the owner of the land on which nine young men died in a galamsey pit collapse had earlier warned the miners to leave the site.

In an exclusive interview on Adom FM’s morning show Dwaso Nsem, on March 2, 2026, Mustapha expressed sadness over the incident and explained that both he and the landowner had tried to stop the illegal mining before the tragedy occurred.

“When the incident happened, the landowner informed me that he had already sacked everyone from the site.

“We all know that even the President has said no to galamsey and does not accept it. So, we cannot say we were aware and encouraged the youth to engage in galamsey. They did that on their own,” Mustapha said.

According to him, the illegal mining had only begun recently and was mostly done at night to avoid detection.

“It has not been long since they started. They were doing it at night. The landowner asked them to stop just a few days before the incident happened, but they did not listen,” he stated.

Mustapha also revealed that the landowner had taken steps to protect the land after noticing the illegal activities.

“Per what the landowner told me, he asked his people to arrange security to protect the place,” he said.

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He added that officers from the Kenyasi Police Station had visited the area about a week before the collapse after reports of galamsey activities on the land.

“The police came there to take pictures of the place when they heard about the illegal mining. That was even before the unfortunate incident happened,” he explained.

The Assemblyman said community leaders were not silent about the situation and had been trying to caution against the act.

“We were all trying to stop them. The police only took pictures as evidence. It was about three to four days after the galamsey started that the unfortunate incident happened,” he added.

The tragic collapse happened at Atta ne Atta in the Asutifi South District of the Ahafo Region late Saturday night February 28, 2026, into the early hours of Sunday March 1, 2026.

Nine young men lost their lives, while four others are in critical condition and receiving treatment at St Elizabeth Hospital in Hwidiem.

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