Officials of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have been threatened with violence and death following the illegal takeover of a mining concession. The illegal miners, backed by political operatives and shadowy foreign nationals, have warned ECG workers they will be shot if they attempt to disconnect electricity to the site.
The ECG disconnected power to the mine after unpaid bills accumulated, but when staff tried to enforce a fresh disconnection, they were confronted by thugs guarding the concession.
“When we went there to disconnect them, they came after us with thugs. They threatened us that if we tried again, they would shoot us,” an ECG source explained.
The concession, originally licensed to RMG Company Limited, has since run up nearly two million cedis in electricity bills, paying only GHC150,000 over six months. Normally, ECG would cut power, but staff say they cannot do so because of threats to their lives. Poles carrying the high-tension lines are now guarded day and night by the same groups mining the site.
ECG officials say the matter was reported to the police, but no action was taken. The Western Central Police Commander denied knowledge of the case, saying he was on leave when it happened.
Almost half a year has passed since armed men stormed RMG’s concession, chased away staff, and seized equipment. What was a licensed operation quickly turned into an illegal one. Witnesses say National Security operatives led the raid in March 2025 and remained on site for weeks.
When they eventually withdrew, heavily built men and youth believed to be supporters of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) moved in.
They are led by NDC activist Ebenezer Amemagakpor, alias Commander or Aboyanga. RMG has not been allowed back, and all attempts to reclaim the site have been met with threats of violence and death.
ECG’s initial disconnection triggered political intervention. The MP for Prestea Huni Valley, Robert Wisdom Cudjoe, wrote to ECG on March 28, 2025, requesting reconnection of power.
“It has come to my attention that [the power] disconnection has severely impacted the mining site’s ability to operate, particularly in powering pumps to [drain water from] the pits,” the MP wrote. “If the situation persists, there is a high risk of over-flooding which could lead to operational setback and potential job losses for many youths engaged in mining activities at the site.”
The MP described the mining as “community mining,” even though government had only days earlier reversed the Akufo-Addo era community mining policy. ECG’s response was blunt: officials asked him to provide documentation proving his interest in the mine before power could be restored. Unable to do so, the MP said he abandoned his efforts.
Yet mining operations resumed with power reconnected. ECG insists its staff did not restore supply, suggesting instead that the illegal miners hired their own electrical hands.
RMG Managing Director Osman Bukari recalls that the raiding operatives told him their action was based on a “command from above” and directed him to the National Security headquarters in Accra for answers.
He said he was later summoned to a meeting at the National Security Secretariat, chaired by the Director of Operations, Col. Robert Talleh, and attended by MP Cudjoe. According to Bukari, the meeting agreed the miners should leave and RMG should resume operations.
“The agreement was that [the MP] should allow me to go and start work,” Bukari said. “But we’ve never been allowed back.”
The MP offers a different recollection. He says he was asked only to help resolve tensions between “two contractors” and insists he had no personal stake in the mine. Asked why National Security would intervene without the Minerals Commission—the regulator—he retorted: “Do you think National Security does not know about the Minerals Commission?”
The Fourth Estate wrote to both Col. Talleh and National Security Coordinator DCOP Abdul-Osman Razak requesting interviews. Neither has responded.
RMG secured its lease and permits from the Minerals Commission and Environmental Protection Agency in 2023. But Nankas/Task Mining, owned by Isaac Kwesi Blay—who calls himself regent of Apinto—insists the concession belongs to his company. He claims RMG secured approval through political connections under the Akufo-Addo administration. Blay admitted inviting National Security to the site, but says it is now NDC sympathisers who are mining.
“The party folks realised that the concession does not belong to RMG. They also decided to take charge of the concession so that people can have jobs because there are no jobs in the area,” he said.
By July 2025, at least six Chinese nationals were spotted operating equipment on the site.
Their presence contravenes Section 96 of the Minerals and Mining Act, which forbids foreigners from engaging in small-scale mining or supporting it. Despite this breach, mining continues at full tilt with RMG’s own seized equipment.
The continuing illegal mining operation has left RMG shut out of its lawful concession, ECG facing mounting losses and threats, and security agencies accused of complicity.
Machines run day and night, bills soar, and the mine remains in the grip of armed groups who defy both the law and the authorities charged with enforcing it.
