Whindo Chief Rejects GH¢2 Million Bribe from Chinese Galamseyers, Seizes Mining Equipment

The Chief of Whindo in the Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipality of the Western Region, Nana Quasie Essiem IV, has reportedly rejected a GH¢2 million bribe and other lucrative incentives allegedly offered by a group of Chinese nationals engaged in illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.

According to a report by Graphic Online, the incident occurred when the group, accompanied by a Ghanaian intermediary, arrived in a long convoy of V8 SUVs at Whindo near Takoradi, bringing along excavators, changfang machines, power generators, water pumps, and other mining tools. Their intention, the report said, was to persuade the chief to grant them permission to mine for gold in the area.

However, Nana Quasie Essiem IV outrightly rejected the offer and ordered the group to leave, insisting that illegal mining activities would never be permitted on her land. The chief, demonstrating strong leadership and moral integrity, went further to seize the heavy-duty equipment and handed them over to the Western Regional Police Command in Sekondi for safekeeping.

“I need money, we all need money, but I will not accept such money and mortgage the future of the community in the name of money,” she reportedly said, emphasizing her commitment to protecting her people and the environment.

Nana Quasie Essiem IV explained that she had personally witnessed the destructive effects of galamsey, including polluted water bodies, destroyed farmlands, and rising social vices within affected communities. She vowed that no amount of money or official documents could sway her from defending her community’s natural resources.

“I told them I am against the idea. Even if they brought documents to mine legally, as long as I remain the Chief of the community, I disagree,” she declared.

The chief lamented how illegal mining has led to health problems, school dropouts, and increasing drug abuse in mining communities across Ghana, stressing that she would not allow Whindo to suffer the same fate.

In a dramatic turn of events, the Chinese investors and their Ghanaian collaborators reportedly returned to the community with more equipment, attempting to resume their activities. Upon learning of their return, Nana Quasie Essiem IV acted swiftly—personally hiring a low-bed truck to haul the seized machinery to the police headquarters before law enforcement arrived.

“I hired a low bed and hauled the equipment to the regional Police Command for safekeeping. Now, they have to reclaim the land they have already destroyed and face the authorities,” she said, reaffirming her determination to continue fighting illegal mining in and around Whindo.

She vowed that her resistance to mining, whether legal or illegal, would remain unshaken:

“As far as mining is concerned, I can assure my people and the nation that it is ‘no’ today, it will be ‘no’ tomorrow, and it will remain ‘no’ as long as I lead the community. Whether you have operating and other necessary permits or not, it is ‘no’. Our land is our livelihood; it is in trust for generations unborn, and we must protect it at all costs.”

Her courageous stance has since drawn praise and admiration from her community members, local leaders, and Ghanaians across social media, with many describing her as a symbol of integrity and patriotic leadership in the national fight against illegal mining.

The incident adds to growing calls for traditional leaders and local authorities to take an active role in combating galamsey, which continues to threaten Ghana’s water resources, forests, and food security.