Two persons have sustained gunshot wounds after police opened fire to disperse demonstrating youth in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region.
The youth were on their way to demonstrate at the Somanya office of PDS over what they claim is unfair treatment and lack of service delivery from the power distribution company.
39-year-old Michael Asare and 35-year-old Kwame Teye were part of a group of residents wielding machetes, broken bottles, carpentry saws, and other offensive weapons, reportedly pelted stones at the police, injuring two officers named, Edmund Asamoah and Micheal Bright Bortey.
Confirming the incident to Citi News, the Eastern Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ebenezer Tetteh, said the Police are currently patrolling the streets of Somanya and Odumase to restore order.
“They realised that they were not going to have their way so they turned their attention on the police. This time around they were coming to the Police station to attack it.”
“They were not only advancing at the police station but they were pelting and throwing missiles and stones. And the Police realizing how serious the situation has had no option than to repel them. Some warning shots were fired and subsequently, about eight persons were arrested. As we speak they are in the custody of the Odumase Police. Subsequently, we heard that two of the rioters have sustained injuries and are now receiving injuries at the Koforidua Hospital,” he added.
Residents of Nuaso in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region on Wednesday evening blocked roads leading to the town in an attempt to register their displeasure over what they described as unfair treatment by the Power Distribution Services Ghana (PDS).
The residents numbering 60, wielding metals, planks and other offensive weapons blocked the main town road and set fire into tyres and other materials in the middle of the road.
They in the process caused several hours of vehicular and human traffic to commuters from Kpong and Somanya.
One of the protestors who spoke to journalists called on PDS to provide them with a load shedding schedule.
“The whole community is not happy with the way electricity keeps going off every night. We are bothered and worried about this because the weather now is very hot during the day and at night we need electricity to power our devices to sleep but we don’t have electricity.”
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By: Marian Ansah| citinewsroom.com| Ghana
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