4 killed, 10 critically injured, property destroyed in chieftaincy dispute at Agona Abodom

Four persons have been killed and 10 others have sustained serious injuries after suspected landguards clashed with residents of Agona Abodom in the Agona West Municipality of the Central Region.

Two vehicles and other properties have been destroyed in the community, while tables, chairs, and other fixtures in the chief’s palace have also been vandalised.

Youth of Abodom bearing the body of one of the victims as the police get ready to take it away.
Policemen have been deployed to the community. They have conveyed the bodies, with all the dead suspected to be members of the landguards, while the injured have been sent to the hospital.

A number of the suspected landguards were rescued by the police from being lynched by the angry youth of the town. Others also managed to escape.

Gomoa Abodom, a farming community, had been battling chieftaincy disputes for the past 45 years until a chief was installed earlier this year.

Information available to Adom News’ Kofi Adjei, who is monitoring the developments, indicates that the chiefs and people of Agona Abodom were celebrating their Akwanbo Festival when an opposing claimant to the stool allegedly mobilised landguards to create confusion, which degenerated into mayhem.

In an interview with Adom News, an eyewitness, Kwame Arhin, said three people had been killed, with a fourth body later discovered.

Residents say they are living in fear and have called for military and police protection.
Assemblyman for the Agona Abodom Electoral Area, Alex Donkor, says the situation is getting out of hand and requires enhanced security.