The Member of Parliament for Wa West, Peter Lanchene Toobu, has lamented the negative impact of misinformation in the conflict between the Lassia-Tuolu and Kendeu communities in the constituency.
A land dispute between the two communities led to a tragic incident where three individuals died and several others sustained injuries of varying degrees following a confrontation on Saturday, June 15.
Peter Toobu told Nii Larte Lartey on Eyewitness News on Citi FM on Monday that the situation initially created a hostile cloud over the communities following the conflict, which the intervention of the various security services cooled down tempers and enforced order.
“I was in Kendeu yesterday [Sunday, June 16] and someone called me and told me there were shootings in a next door community and I said, please this misinformation will destroy us and before I got to the next town, the youth were reacting seriously and threatening to retaliate and I told them that the information was false so misinformation is one of the key things we are fighting but I think the police have set up a command centre and are ensuring peace.”
The MP urged the two communities to obey the laws of Ghana and seek legal redress in land and other disputes to prevent carnage.
He added that consultations and extensive engagement has rapidly restored calm in the area.
“We don’t need to fight over land. There is a process to justify who owns land and there are laws and you cannot use brute force to get what you want. You go to the court when you feel and think otherwise and the response of the security services was timely and peace is returning after engaging
“What we have done is engage and talk to people and let them understand that this is not a tribal conflict but a conflict between two communities, and it has to do with land ownership and so let us not give out wrong information.”
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