Church Elder Arrested in Alleged Galamsey Raid Near Juaso, Ghana

NAIMOS, the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat, arrested David Bobie Peter during an operation against illegal mining at Akyem Morso, near Juaso in the Asante Akim District of the Ashanti Region. Reports differ on his church position. DailyGuide Network says Peter claims to be an elder of The Church of Pentecost in Konongo. MyJoyOnline and Pulse Ghana describe him as an elder of The Church of Pentecost without qualification.

According to DailyGuide Network, several young people engaged in illegal mining fled when they saw security personnel during the operation at Kyekyebiase. The task force dismantled eight Chanfang machines and four wooden gold-washing platforms and set them on fire. Twelve water pumping machines were seized as exhibits. Officers also found a Sany excavator concealed under trees on an adjoining cocoa farm, with its control boards and monitor removed or disabled. Peter was found in possession of tools and equipment used in illegal small-scale mining, known as “galamsey.”

Accounts of Peter’s explanation differ. MyJoyOnline reports that he initially said he was visiting his farm but was later identified as the foreman of the illegal mining site. DailyGuide Network reports that Peter admitted to being the foreman of an illegal mining site at Morso and said his boss, a man named Appiah, had sent him to check on the security personnel. The supplied material does not establish whether Appiah has been identified further or charged.

MyJoyOnline reports that NAIMOS officers followed the suspect to his mining site at Morso and that he allegedly acted under the direction of a higher-ranking individual. It also reports that his confession has led to further investigations into the wider network of illegal mining operations in the area. Church office carries particular responsibility, and the arrest of a church elder on these allegations is a matter of public accountability (Luke 12:48).

Pulse Ghana reports that Peter was arrested for allegedly overseeing illegal mining activities in the Ashanti Region. It says the arrest followed an operation along the Kume River, where illegal mining operations were dismantled and environmental damage was documented. The same report begins to describe NAIMOS’s role in that operation, but the supplied text is incomplete at that point.

No charges, pleas, or court outcomes are reported in the supplied material. The allegations against Peter remain unproven, and the reports’ descriptions of his role are based on the arrest and the statements attributed to him.