A young teenager has been shot dead by an unknown assailant on Sunday, August 31, 2025, while reportedly engaged in illegal gold mining (galamsey) activities.
Issahaku Ansu, 16, was killed at an illegal mining site in Amasu, a farming community in the Dormaa East District, highlighting the grave dangers and human toll of the galamsey crisis.
The Bono Regional Police Command, in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Chief Inspector Thomas Akeelah, confirmed the tragic incident.
The police found the victim’s body with multiple gunshot wounds to the back, indicating that the shots were fired from a distance.
The statement noted, “Investigations suggest that the victim was shot from a nearby bush while engaged in illegal mining activities, causing others at the site to flee.”
This heartbreaking incident is not an anomaly but a grim example of the fatal risks faced by those drawn into the lucrative but perilous world of galamsey.
The uncontrolled illegal mining sector has become a national crisis, not only devastating Ghana’s forests and polluting major water bodies like the Pra and Ankobra rivers but also leading to frequent clashes, accidents, and deaths.
An increasing number of young Ghanaians, often from rural communities with limited employment opportunities, are being pushed into this dangerous trade.
The lure of quick wealth, however, is often overshadowed by the brutal reality of a largely lawless environment.
The police, who arrived shortly after the incident, retrieved the victim’s body, which was found wearing a blood-soaked pair of wine-coloured boxer shorts.
The body has since been deposited at the Dormaa Ahenkro Presbyterian Hospital mortuary for preservation and autopsy.
The Bono Regional Police Command has vowed to intensify its investigation to find those responsible for the “heinous crime.”
The incident serves as a stark reminder of the social and economic complexities driving Ghana’s illegal mining crisis, a fight that costs lives even beyond the environmental ruin.
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