Tension mounts between farmers and Fulani herdsmen

Dwerebease, March 10, GNA - Tension is mounting between Fulani headsmen and a farming community in the Kwahu East District when Fulani herdsmen shot and wounded three farmers. Two weeks ago Fulani herdsmen inflicted gunshot wounds on three farmers, including a woman, who were working on their farms at Dwerebease.

The wounded farmers were Kwaku Somuah, 43, and his wife Afua Obenewaa, 30, and Kwaku Aboagye, 62, who is on admission at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi.

A herbalist removed four pallets from the body of Somuah and one pallet from the body of Obenewaa.

The Krontihene of Dwerebease, Nana Kwadwo Danso, said this when the Kwahu East District Chief Executive, Mr Samuel Asamoah, visited the two victims and interacted with the people in the community. Nana Kwadwo Danso said he was in his farm on February 23 when he had a message that Fulani herdsmen had launched attacks on people on their farms.

He rushed home and organized people who went and brought the three wounded farmers from their farms and took them to the Holy Family Hospital at Nkawkaw.

Nana Kwadwo Danso said two of the victims, Somuah and his wife, Obenewaa, were admitted while Aboagye, whose condition was critical, was referred to the Komfo Anokye Hospital.

He said people were afraid to go to their farms and appealed to the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) for assistance. Addressing the people, who were clad in red and black cloth with red bands on their wrist and heads, Mr Asamoah appealed to them to exercise patience as the District Security Council had met on the issue and had sent a report to the Eastern Regional Minister and the Regional Security Council.

He suggested appealed to the chief in the area not to take money from any Fulani herdsman to bring their cattle to the town. Mr Asamoah said information reaching him indicated that chiefs had been taking money from the Fulani herdsmen to offer them land to keep their animals.

He said the chiefs and people of Agogo had driven away the herdsmen and their cattle from their area. |Mr Asamoah said the police were working hard to arrest the Fulani herdsman who shot the farmers and promised to assist them with food ration and that the Assembly would bear the cost of treatement for the wounded. The body of an unidentified Fulani herdsman had been found in a bush near the community and had been buried by the police.