By Christopher Asiedu
The residents of Wa, the Upper West regional capital a fortnight ago woke up to the gruesome murder of two security men. This is suspected to be a serial killings, as it comes immediately on the heels of five other people killed in the region.
On 15th June, 2024, three people were reported killed in a suspected land dispute between the Kendeu and Lassie Tuolu communities in the Wa West District. Two days later, another two people were killed in a chieftaincy dispute at Nyanyoyiri in the Wa East District.
The people of the Upper West region are experiencing these security threats at the time they are battling with elementary issues of survival. Again, these heinous crimes occur at a time when the residents in the Wa Municipality have not unravelled the mysteries surrounding the previous killings two years ago.
They have still not been updated on the outcome of investigations conducted by the security agencies into the number of people killed in cold-blood in 2022.
The crime scenes of the latest two victims found on the 18th of June, this year, indicated that they were not markedly different from the modus operandi of the perpetrators of the 2022 killings.
The Overlord of the Wala Traditional Council, Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo has waded into the issue, calling on the state security agencies, traditional authorities, hoteliers and residents in the Wa Municipality, to combine efforts, to stop the heinous crimes, re-emerging in the Municipality.
The Wa-Naa, indicated that what happened last Tuesday smacked of the failure of stakeholders to collaborate to get to the bottom of the serial killings. He questioned the outcome of the investigations into the previous serial murders and called on the state security apparatus to update the residents on the investigations, to give them hope and learn the modus operandus of the murderers, emphasising security is a shared responsibility of all.
The Overlord of the Wala Traditional Council assured the residents of the Council’s readiness to team up with the security services to ensure their safety and security.
Meanwhile, the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), held a meeting to re-strategise to contain the situation. The MP for Wa Central, Dr. Rashid Pelpuo and his counterpart for Bole-Bamboi, Yusif Sulemana raised concerns about the rise in serial killings and stressed the need for the Minister of the Interior to brief Parliament on the issue. This prompted Parliament to summon the Minister of the Interior, Henry Quartey to update the House on the matter.
The residents of the Wa Municipality in particular and Ghanaians in general, want nothing short of the state, addressing the lingering serial killings in the Wa municipality, coupled with assurances of adequate security for all.
Life is the topmost priority of every living organism and the residents of Wa and their fellow Ghanaians are justified to be worried, if criminals are snuffing out the lives of their compatriots for reasons best known to these murderers, whilst the security agents are helpless in apprehending these social misfits.
Reports have it that the state security has not found any clue in their investigations after more than 20 suspects were arrested in relation to the 2022 killings. Another issue worth addressing is the sustainability of the previous measures put in place to neutralize the ritual murders in 2022. In a typical Ghanaian fashion, we tend to forget about a problem until the same problem re-emerges.
What happened to the idea of increasing security visibility in the Wa Municipality two years ago? What about the plans of providing light in every corner of the Municipality? What about the practicality of sharing responsibilities between landlords, hoteliers, the state security and the residents on security issues? Two years after the serial murders, residents in Wa are still living in darkness as most of the street lights are off.
The visibility of the Police needs to be upscaled.
As a people, we have the penchant for coming out with ideas and plans when problems and challenges emerge, but lack the endurance to sustain these ideas and plans.
We need to put plans and actions in place to curtail unpleasant eventualities, rather than knee-jerk approaches to issues, as the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. We were quick to come up with the slogan, “if you see something, say something,” when we felt threatened by terrorists, but that slogan has fizzled out, because we feel less or no more threatened by the perceived terrorism that could take place.
Going forward, measures put in place to ensure adequate security in the Municipality, must be duly followed through by all.
A lot needs to be done by all stakeholders, to allay the fears of the people and encourage them to go about their socio-economic activities without panic, to improve their lot and to develop Mother Ghana.
A stitch in time, saves nine.
