“Stop the Live Bullets Now”: MP Cudjoe Warns Festival Gunfire Is Becoming Deadly
The Member of Parliament for Prestea Huni‑Valley, Robert Wisdom Cudjoe, is calling for strict enforcement of laws banning the use of live ammunition during festivals and traditional ceremonies, warning that the growing trend poses a serious public safety and national security threat.
Delivering a statement on the floor of Parliament, the MP expressed alarm over what he described as the dangerous replacement of traditional musketry with modern firearms—including locally manufactured shotguns, pistols and assault rifles loaded with live rounds.
He said the long‑standing cultural practice of firing blank gunpowder to produce symbolic gun salutes at festivals and funerals has been distorted, resulting in avoidable deaths and injuries.
“The traditional practice of musketry, which historically involved the use of blank gunpowder to produce symbolic gun salutes, has increasingly been replaced by modern pistols, locally manufactured shotguns and even assault rifles loaded with live ammunition,” he said.
Mr. Cudjoe warned that the trend is turning cultural celebrations into tragic events, with innocent people becoming victims of stray bullets fired under the guise of tradition.
“This is no longer a hypothetical risk. It is an active public safety and security crisis. Citizens are losing their lives in the prime of their youth as a result of stray bullets fired during cultural and traditional celebrations,” he lamented.
He urged the government, security agencies and traditional authorities to strictly enforce existing laws prohibiting the use of live ammunition at public and traditional events to prevent further loss of lives.