Tensions have flared in Densu River near Tetegu in the Weija-Gbawe Municipality after military personnel and officers from the National Inland Marine Operations (NAIMOS) reportedly stormed a dredging site and set fire to machines and equipment being used by residents.

An angry resident, speaking to journalists after the incident, demanded that the military replace the destroyed equipment, insisting the machines were being used to combat flooding rather than for illegal mining.

Military destroys Changfan machine on Densu River despite Assembly’s approval claim

In a video report by AccraFM and shared on X on September 5, 2026, the man, speaking passionately near the site, argued that state agencies and the community had been unable to resolve the silting problem while calling on the president.

“I want to tell the President of Ghana that what he said we should do — dredging our gutters — we have done it. The base where the water is coming is choked. The dam, Ghana Hydro, Ghana Water, the military, and even the 48 Engineers have not been able to do this work.

"...The community has not been able to do it. We, together with the assembly and the assembly members, are dying out of this and are trying to solve it,” he said.

The resident accused the military of undermining their efforts, stressing that instead of protecting them, soldiers had destroyed the very tools they were using to safeguard lives and property.

He further lamented that the destruction leaves them vulnerable to flooding, with fears that each rainfall could submerge homes and livelihoods.

“And yet, the military, instead of protecting us, comes to burn what we are using to save ourselves. Look at the island there. Who will dredge the island? This matter will go wherever it is supposed to go, and I need to talk to the president about it.

"We cannot live in a country where fear rules our lives. By the time you sleep and wake up, the water has taken over everything. I am glad the journalists were here before this started, because this is the nonsense going on,” he disclosed.

He vowed to escalate the matter to the highest authorities and called for accountability from the military command.

"If the military command continues this way, they will have to replace it. The stupidity going on suggests that leaders cannot protect their own people. If this is considered an evil act, then they should arrest us and send us away — that would be better than destroying what we have built."

He continued: "You sit here as rational human beings, as Ghanaians, as military men, and you see the island and the water swallowing everything. Yet instead of protecting us, you start destroying. Are we not in Ghana? Or do you think we are joking here?"

'I would rather die fighting galamsey with integrity than be corrupted' – Armah-Kofi Buah

The incident occurred on or around September 4, 2026, when military personnel, reportedly working with NAIMOS officers, destroyed a Changfan (Cheng-Fa) dredging machine and related equipment at the site.

Officials, including Weija Gbawe Municipal Assembly Presiding Member Wilfred Ayitey Blankson, have maintained that the dredging was a legitimate effort, undertaken with the Assembly’s knowledge and approval, to remove silt and reduce flooding risks linked to heavy rains and Weija Dam spillage.

Watch video here.

“The military command would have to replace all our equipments they have burned”

— An angry resident has expressed frustration after military personnel and NAIMOS officers reportedly stormed their dredging site along a section of the Densu River and set fire to their machines… pic.twitter.com/SJE5QQDHcJ

— SIKAOFFICIAL🦍 (@SIKAOFFICIAL1) September 5, 2026