The Navrongo District Court in the Upper East Region has sentenced 12 out of the 20 suspects arrested over a land dispute clash in the Kassena-Nankana area.
According to the Navrongo Police Command, the suspects were arrested in connection with their involvement in the recent land dispute clash between the people of Doba and Kandiga which claimed six lives and injured four others on Saturday, July 4, 2020.
The Presiding Judge of the Navrongo District Court, His Worship Abdul-Malik Wahab on Tuesday, July 7, 2020, sentenced the 12 to a minimum of five months and a maximum of eight months imprisonment for possession of unlawful firearms and rioting.
They are to serve the jail term in the Gambaga prison in the North East Region.
Speaking to Citi News, Navrongo Municipal Police Commander, DSP Francis Agyare said the suspects pleaded guilty to the charges pressed against them and were convicted on their own plea.
“Twenty suspects were arrested in the clash for rioting and possessing firearms without lawful authority. We realized that most of the suspects did not have a license to cover the weapons they possessed. We charged 12 out of the 20 and put before the Navrongo District Court this morning (Tuesday, July 7, 2020). They pleaded guilty to the charges and they were accordingly convicted on their own plea to serve various sentences at the Gambaga prison.
“For the remaining eight, we are working on them and as and when we finish, we shall put them before the court,” he added.
DSP Agyare reiterated their commitment to ensuring law and order in the troubled area.
The Minister of the Interior, Ambrose Dery upon advice from the Upper East Regional Security Council has imposed a 12-hour curfew on the town.
The 6:00 pm to 6:00 am curfew took effect on Monday, July 6, 2020.
There is heavy joint military-police personnel in the troubled area as part of efforts to enforce the curfew and maintain law and order in the area.
