The chief of Adanse-Dompoase, Nana Okofo Kwabena Bonsu, was shot and injured on Saturday during a funeral ceremony in Obuasi, an incident that has unsettled residents and renewed questions about the persistent use of firearms at traditional gatherings despite a nationwide ban.
Police say the shooting happened in the middle of the ceremony when a 30-year-old man, identified as Nana Yaw Dankwa, allegedly discharged a weapon. Witnesses told local reporters that the single shot sent mourners scattering before elders rushed the wounded chief to a nearby hospital. He has since been treated and discharged, according to regional officials.
In a statement, the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council confirmed the arrest and said the suspect is assisting investigators. The council also underscored the Interior Ministry’s standing directive prohibiting the use of firearms at funerals and other traditional events, a rule introduced to curb exactly this type of incident.
Authorities have released no information on the motive, leaving unanswered whether the shooting was accidental or targeted. Police have also not said whether additional suspects are being sought.
The incident has stirred frustration in the Dompoase community, where leaders have repeatedly warned about the risks associated with gunfire at funerals, a practice that persists in parts of the region despite official efforts to stop it. The shooting of a sitting chief (an event considered both rare and symbolically troubling) is likely to intensify pressure on law-enforcement agencies to enforce the ban more aggressively.
