The Teshie Mantse, Gbetsoolo Nii Ashitey Akomfra on Thursday night escaped an attempt on his life when a group of gunmen broke into the Palace.
Nii Ashitey Akomfra misteriously escaped the attempted assassination and he is currently safe at a secret location.
The inability of the gunmen to accomplish their mission angered them and therefore attempted to burn the Palace.
When that also failed they decided to vandalized the Palace and left the place in ruins.
Explaining the incidence to the media, the Dzasetse of Teshie Nii Ashikwei Kwaobotswe ll, said signs of the attack on Gbetsoolo by the gunmen started on Wednesday during the ŋshɔbulemɔ ceremony (Lifting of the ban on deep sea fishing) at Teshie which was marred by the maiming of an innocent youngman by a group of land guards.
He revealed that Gbetsoolo’s fishing crew landed some really fantastic catch.
As usual some children carried the fish in a joyous procession from the Saŋonaa Landing Bay to the Palace.
He said a massive crowd followed the procession with beautiful songs and dances adding that just a few meters to the Palace, disaster struck when scores of gunmen emerging from nowhere and started shooting into the crowd.
This he said resulted in the people running halter skelter.
According to the Dzasetse, one of the young men who was hit fell on the ground in a pool of blood and is currently struggling for his life at the Regional Hospital at Ridge.
He noted that he cannot disclose the fate of the victim as at the time of the media briefing stressing that it will be one of the wonders of the world should the young man walk again.
He described the attack as premeditated, unexpected and unwarranted.
According to him, a similar attack was launched on the same day at almost the same spot during the same ŋshɔbulemɔ event in 1996 during which the Teshie Mantse Palace was burnt to ashes. The residence of Nii Akporh Adjei II, who was then Acting as Teshie Mantse, was also destroyed with impunity.
‘The brain behind the atrocities is still walking free. What has guns got to do with a serene and peaceful ŋshɔbulemɔ ceremony? ” he asked.
Nii Kwaobotswe further revealed that a group of people were heard boasting on an Accra based Ablade TV that this year’s ŋshɔbulemɔ would be bloody which from all indications has been successfully executed.
“Just a few hours before yesterday’s incident, the same person was heard boasting openly that next Monday’s Gbɛmlilaa ceremony will equally be bloody and yet the man is walking free” he noted.
“The handwriting has been on the wall for sometime now but the state security apparatus has failed to act to nip the threat in the bud. Time and again, rampant incidents of land guard activities and indiscriminate shooting incidents have been reported but no action has been taken” he added.
Source: Muhammed Faisal Mustapha
