Survivors and bereaved families of the deadly shooting incident in Manso Keniago have called on the government to launch an immediate, full-scale investigation into the confrontation that left seven people dead and several others injured.
The violence erupted on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, in the Amansie South District of the Ashanti Region, following a misunderstanding over the transportation of heavy mining machinery.
According to reports, tensions flared after NAIMOS drove an excavator directly along the community’s main public road, prompting residents to voice fears that the heavy equipment would severely damage the infrastructure.
Seven individuals have died, including 15-year-old Maxwell Donkor; Dominic Boakye, 22; Owusu Richard, 24; Roland Abeka, 26; and Yaw Emmanuel, 34.
Several other residents sustained gunshot wounds and are currently receiving medical treatment at St Martin’s Hospital in Agroyesum.
Speaking in interviews with Kumasi FM’s Elisha Adarkwah, grief-stricken relatives and survivors recounted the chaos and demanded accountability from the government, questioning the deployment and conduct of the military personnel involved.
Diana Boatema, mother of 15-year-old victim Maxwell Donkor, appealed to authorities to identify those responsible and ensure they face the law.
”What I want to say is that we need justice, and also where the soldiers came from and came to our homes and shot us, we want to know, and whoever the law has to be dealt with, has to face it,” Boatema said.
She continued: “I saw everything because I was at work, so when my son lay dead, I saw it. When they were firing the gun, he ran to hide behind a parked car, so when he saw that the soldiers were coming, he wanted to run away, and he was hit by the bullet.”
Kwabena Appiah, brother of 34-year-old Yaw Emmanuel, expressed outrage that soldiers deployed to combat illegal mining had turned their weapons on unarmed civilians.
”It is too bad for government military who are supposed to protect us, to do us bad like that. They asked you to come and flush out galamseyers, and you came to kill people. What we need is justice,” Appiah said.
He further stated: “My brother Yaw Emmanuel was not outside. He was sitting on a bench at home, and they came to shoot him. What we are saying is that the government should ensure there is justice. The government should let us know where the military came from.”
Baffour Patrick, brother of deceased victim Dominic Boakye, echoed the demand for clarity on the origin of the troops and swift justice for the bereaved families.
“What we want is justice, and where the military came from,” he appealed.
Survivors recovering from gunshot wounds also shared harrowing accounts of the incident on their sick beds at St Martin’s Hospital in Agroyesum in an interview with Elisha Adarkwah.
Ellen Opoku Agyemang, who was shot in the thigh inside her shop, alleged that a soldier prevented her from seeking immediate medical attention after she was wounded.
”I was in my shop and heard gunshots, so I closed the first and second gates of the shop. When they were firing the gunshots, I saw one of the soldiers, and he asked me, ‘Where are you going?’ Immediately, I felt heat on my body and realised that a bullet had hit me,” Agyemang recounted.
”Because blood was gushing out, I begged him to allow me to go to the hospital, but he didn’t allow me and slammed my first gate,” she added, noting that she was only rescued after the soldier left, allowing her cousin to rush her to the hospital.
“What I will tell the government is that it should stand firm and give us justice, because what pains me most is when I was in a pool of blood begging you to allow me to go to the hospital, and you didn’t.”
Another injured resident, Kofi Owusu, said he was shot twice in the thigh near his home while the chief and subchiefs were gathered at the palace.
”The chief and his subchiefs were in the palace when they were firing the gunshots. I went to urinate and sat on the wall, and when they shouted that they were coming and I stood up, the bullet hit my thigh. He shot twice,” Owusu said.
He added: “I have not gone to war for a bullet to hit me; why should I be hit by a bullet when I’m in my house? We need justice in this case.”
The violence also caught travellers in the crossfire.
Kwabena Gyansah, a resident of Manso Awisaso, was passing through Keniago with relatives to attend a funeral when they encountered a military barrier and heavy gunfire.
”When we reached Keniago, the soldiers were there and had mounted a barrier and were firing gunshots. So we decided to park at the back of the palace because we didn’t know what had happened,” Gyansah explained.
Highlighting: “When the soldier turned and looked at the car, he fired from the road at the car. At that time, the gunfire had intensified, so everyone was running, and if you called someone to help you, they couldn’t because they were also protecting themselves.”
Gyansah said he managed to walk until a Good Samaritan assisted him to the Keniago Clinic, from where he was transferred to St Martin’s Hospital.
”We are not people from the community, but we were going to a funeral in a hired car and had parked when they fired at us,” he added.
He stressed: “I will appeal to the government to investigate to see if it was the government that sent them to do what they did. I don’t think the government asked them to come and fire gunshots.”
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