Narawa's Osino Concession Dispute: Three Deaths, Disputed Accounts, and a State That Must Answer

Narawa Company Limited, a Ghanaian gold mining firm, says its concession at Osino in the Eastern Region has been under armed occupation since 12 August 2026. It is calling on the state to step in. The Daily Gist (19 October 2026) carries the company's complaint of a Chinese takeover of its sites and three deaths.

At a press conference, the company's Head of Corporate Affairs, Doris Attoh, said its records show three people killed and 10 injured, including a police officer, between 12 August and 7 October.

The company says the site was seized by both civilians and military personnel, and that all CCTV systems were destroyed. It also says about 13 groups of operators, reportedly including Chinese nationals, were mining at the concession without authorisation and rapidly degrading the land.

The most serious incident came on 1 October. Narawa says two more people were killed in an incident involving eight people it had invited for security recruitment interviews outside the concession, and six others were shot and injured.

The company acknowledges that the police's preliminary account of that incident differs materially from its own, both on why the group was there and on the weapons recovered. Those competing versions need an independent investigation. The company reported the incidents to the Eastern South Regional Police Command in Kibi and commended the police for arresting three suspects.

The dispute has a legal side. Narawa says the takeover and continued presence of unauthorized persons are contrary to court orders, and that its lawyers have drawn the alleged breaches to the High Court's attention.

The company has also said it had not authorized any third party to mine on its behalf, and had sought clarification from military authorities about the mandate of personnel operating at the concession. That raises the question of who is on the site and under what authority.

I would handle the "Chinese takeover" framing with care. The company's own account says the occupiers include several groups of operators, "reportedly including" Chinese nationals, as well as civilians and personnel it believes to be military.

That is an allegation of foreign involvement within a wider dispute, not proof that a nationality is behind the violence. Ghana's galamsey crisis has involved Ghanaian and foreign actors alike, and a story that blames one group can hide who actually profits and who protects them.

Four things need answers from the state:

Who authorized the military personnel at the site, and under what mandate?

What do police findings say about the 1 October shootings, and will the public see them?

Who are the foreign operators, if any, how did they get access, and which agencies licensed or tolerated them?

How will the court orders be enforced? A dispute that has already reached the High Court should not be settled by armed groups.

Three people are dead and a concession is contested. The Minerals Commission, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the police and the military should each say publicly what they know.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/Science communicator, Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,United States Institute of Peace (USIP), [email protected] +233555275880.

Sources: The Daily Gist, 19 October 2026, front page; Asaase Radio,

"Narawa Company alleges killings, looting in armed takeover of Osino mining concession" (https://asaaseradio.com/eastern-region-narawa-company-alleges-killings-looting-in-armed-takeover-of-osino-mining-concession/); DailyGuide Network,

"Narawa Ltd. Demands State Action To Reclaim Concession" (https://dailyguidenetwork.com/narawa-ltd-demands-state-action-to-reclaim-concession/);

Ghana Business News, 16 October 2026 (https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2026/10/16/narawa-company-seeks-state-intervention-to-secure-its-mining-concession/).