Biggest Galamsey Arrest At Subri: Illegal Galamsey Now Clearly Not A Chinese Problem But Nationals From Our Neighbouring Countries
Daniel Benin || OHIM TV
I want to personally congratulate Saddick Adams Sports Obama of ANGEL TV for the good work he did by blowing the whistle concerning widespread wanton galamsey in Subri Forest and its villages which have led to the clamp down of the whole community.
I would, however, like to put on record that I was the first investigative journalist to have visited this forest for ONUA TV Captain Smart Morning Show in 2023.
Even as a result of my undercover activities, I had several health issues of urinating blood at some point due to the widespread toxic pollution in the community.
I also escaped plots to have me killed because I was in the town to do Galamsey undercover investigations.
We commend the authorities for such swift action.
But interestingly, can we now still stand by assertion that Chinese nationals are the culprits behind Ghana’s devastating galamsey menace?
It has turned out that other nationals from our neighbour countries are on the front lines of the Galamsey menace. But who grants these people from other our other neighbours the access entry into our land? Who guides these foreigners to locate concessions? The same Ghanaians??
Headlines splash the faces of Chinese across front pages, and public anger bubbles over every time a galamsey bust is made.
But if we're truly serious about ending illegal mining and saving our environment, it’s time we stop pointing fingers at foreigners and face the uncomfortable truth — the real enablers, facilitators, and profiteers of galamsey are right here at home.
The largest galamsey bust in Ghana’s history has ripped the mask off this long-standing deception.
Hidden deep in the Subri River Forest Reserve in the Western Region, an illegal mining settlement known as Abrewa Ne Nkran had evolved into a full-blown criminal city of over 10,000 people.
This wasn't just a group of desperate miners scraping for gold — it was an entrenched hub of child prostitution, drug trafficking, counterfeit operations, and suspected human smuggling.
The military and the Forestry Commission stormed the area expecting 2,000 illegal miners. What they found was a shadow society thriving under the noses — and with the complicit silence — of those entrusted with safeguarding our lands.
It’s no longer deniable: the Forestry Commission, traditional leaders, municipal and district chief executives (MCEs and DCEs), and even Members of Parliament have all been complicit.
Whether through direct involvement, passive allowance, or convenient ignorance, these local power structures have protected galamsey operations for years.
Some have enriched themselves under the guise of fighting illegal mining, while using the Chinese narrative as a convenient scapegoat to deflect accountability.
Not all Chinese nationals in Ghana are into galamsey. Many are involved in legitimate businesses, contributing through Corporate Social Responsibility programs and partnerships that benefit the country.
Blaming an entire nationality not only lacks nuance — it’s lazy and dangerous.
The anti-galamsey operations carried out by the Ghana Armed Forces across the Northern, Central, and Southern Commands exposed a much broader picture: foreign nationals from Nigeria, Guinea, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali were also involved in the illegal operations. Clearly, this is not a “Chinese problem” — it's an African, and more precisely, a Ghanaian problem.
At the heart of the galamsey crisis is a toxic blend of local corruption, political greed, and a lack of enforcement.
Chiefs who sell off lands for personal gain, politicians who use mining communities for votes, and local authorities who look the other way while forest reserves are gutted — these are the true saboteurs of our fight against illegal mining.
They’ve used the Chinese presence as a decoy to mask their own roles in this environmental and social tragedy.
Until we begin to hold our own leaders and institutions accountable, we will never win the war on galamsey.
It is not enough to seize excavators and demolish shelters. The roots of galamsey go deep — into district assemblies, chieftaincies, and political party financing. That’s where the cleanup must begin.
Let’s be clear: illegal mining is a crime, and anyone involved — Ghanaian or foreign — must be dealt with according to the law. But if we continue to frame this crisis as one imported from abroad, we will keep missing the point.
Galamsey didn’t become a monster overnight, and it certainly didn’t do so without the knowing consent of local actors who were supposed to protect the land.
Ghana’s rivers are turning brown, our forests are vanishing, and rural communities are being torn apart by greed.
The time for destruction is over. It’s time to #StopGalamseyNow — not by scapegoating foreigners, but by cleaning our own house first.
Leave A Comment