A suspected landguard has shot and killed 27-year-old farmer Theophilus Della Tugba at Akyem Ayisikrom in the Upper West Akyem District of the Eastern Region.
Reports indicate the incident occurred during a forceful takeover of ancestral farmland that has sustained the community for centuries.
In an interview with Adom News, some peasant farmers who depend on the land claimed that the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council had sold it to a private developer.
As a result of the alleged sale, they are being forcibly evicted, and a confrontation during their resistance led to the fatal shooting of Theophilus.
At a press conference, the aggrieved farmers expressed outrage over the destruction of 7,000 acres of crops by the estate developer.
The devastated farmers reported that their valuable crops, including cocoa, palm fruits, pawpaw, oranges, plantains, cassava, and cocoyams, were destroyed in the process.
The farmers have appealed to the authorities for intervention and support in this desperate situation.
Meanwhile, Benet Kwasi Adu, President of the West Akyem Cooperative Cocoa Farmers Association, has voiced deep concern over the widespread destruction of cocoa farms due to galamsey, rubber plantation, and sand mining activities.
He has urgently called on authorities to intervene and protect the country’s cocoa farms.
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