KMA To Be Hauled Before Court Following Gold Burglary

An aggrieved businessman in Kumasi whose gold refinery was broken into and several ounces of gold forcefully taken away has expressed surprise at the protection the state gives to foreigners at the expense of Ghanaian indigenes.

Mr. Richmond Osei who is the Chief Executive of Osrich Mines and Gold Refinery at Santasi roundabout in Kumasi says city guards escorted by an assault rifle-wielding soldier broke into his shop, vandalized the place and took away all his gold on exhibition and sale.

This, according to him is because he refused to leave that parcel of land which he rightfully owns for a Chinese man to expand his shop.

Mr. Osei claims the Chinese man who is popularly known as Lela came to him sometime ago to boast of having bribed KMA authorities GH150,000 for which reason he knows he (Lela) will surely own the land soon.

Not long after that, the City Engineer also ordered him to leave that land but he refused, 'only for them to come with a soldier man to take away all the gold today.'

City Authorities have been silent on the matter publicly but inside sources say the Mayor of Kumasi Osei Assibey Antwi has threatened to sue Mr. Osei for defaming him.

Hon Osei Assibey Antwi says many reports that came up on the fateful day said he was behind the act of the city guards which many have described as 'day light robbery'.

But Mr. Osei says he is ready for any court action since he has also instructed his lawyers to go to court on the matter.

"I didn't mention his name anywhere as the one who came for the gold, but I think many dragged his name in because he is the Mayor and has the final say at the Assembly. So such a wicked act cannot happen without his knowledge.

...If he says he is going to court just because of this he should go, because I have even instructed my lawyers to do same. Let's see how things will go". He noted confidently.

The gold dealer noted that what the Assembly might not know is that all the gold which were there were on hire and he paid interests on each ounce, so his lawyers are going to pray the court to order the KMA to pay all the interests accrued for the number of days they seized them unlawfully.

The land according to the aggrieved gold dealer is his as he has documents to prove same so could not understand why the KMA would order him to leave for a Chinese to expand his business.

The action by the City guards which many residents of Kumasi deem wrong has been worsened by a recent video which went viral on social media just a fortnight ago.

In the video, KMA city guards were seen sharing some items supposedly belonging to traders but had been seized and not returned to them.

Many people cursed and railed insults on the city guards for sharing what they thought had been seized out of wickedness from the traders who were already going through a lot of difficult times.