The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Hohoe, Noble Awume, has recounted his harrowing experience when he found himself between irate youth and heavily armed police officers during a recent skirmish that claimed the lives of two indigenes.
About a week ago, the youth of Hohoe clashed with the police after policemen in a patrol vehicle rammed their vehicle into a motorbike ridden someone they police suspected of carrying marijuana.
The irate youth burned the patrol vehicle in retaliation, and later that day police officers stormed the community arresting young men and allegedly ransacking shops and burning several motorbikes.
According to the indigenes, police brutalities in the area is becoming commonplace and must be stopped immediately to restore calm.
Noble Awume who had been at the forefront of trying to maintain the peace on that fateful day said the precarious situation he was in had put his life in danger.
“As the confrontation grew more heated, it seemed that violence was inevitable. The youth, incensed by past injustices, refused to back down, and the police, wary of potential chaos, stood their ground. The situation hanged by a thread, and it was at this critical moment that I realised my life was in great danger,” Noble Awume said.
Attributing his survival to the grace of God, he said it was a turning point in the clash between the youth and the police, and that the near-tragedy served as a sobering reminder of the need for dialogue and reconciliation.
“It was only by the grace of God that I was not shot because the situation was harrowing and terrifying to the extent that I thought I was going to die too,” he said.
He noted that the clash between the youth and the police had been brewing for some time, fuelled by misunderstandings, mistrust, and a growing sense of frustration, and that It was during the particularly tense protest that the situation reached a boiling point.
Mr. Awume is resolute in his quest to work to ensure that Hohoe would never again be brought to the brink of potential catastrophe.
He said he is committed to ensuring that the gap between the police force and the indigenes is bridged to prevent a repeat of last week’s event, and he is counting on the cooperation of stakeholders and opinion leaders.
According to him, the clash between the youth and the police would forever remain a dark chapter in the history of Hohoe, but it also serves as a powerful lesson in the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of grace and forgiveness.
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