The image of the military is under threat once more, as three soldiers descended on a herdsman, making away with them three cows of their choice in Kete Krachi, Volta region, on Monday. The soldiers, deployed to the area under the ‘Operation Gong Gong’, were said to have visited mayhem on the people and taken away their animals allegedly under the orders of the paramount chief of the area. Another incident of soldiers engaging in unruly conduct was reported in Tarkwa, Western region. The Krachi police confirmed that allegations of assault against a community leader was lodged with them and that investigations had started. According to ASP Peter Glabu, the District Crime Officer, who is investigating the matter, has requested to the military commander to release those involved for interrogation. In the Krachi incident, Ibrahim Kumah, chief of Mamata community in the Kete Krachi district, and a victim of the unprovoked assault by the soldiers, told Daily Guide in a telephone interview that he reported the incident to the local police who issued him with a hospital form, which he returned after seeing a doctor at Krachi. The soldiers were said to have also attacked another community leader, Mumuni Bagyu, chief of ‘Nkatenkwan’, an elderly person and forcibly took away three cows from them. Ibrahim Kumah told Daily Guide that some Chumuru men had earlier called on him demanding some cows for the impending Akwasidae festival for the Krachiwura, but he declined their request. On Monday, the same person turned up in the company of the three soldiers who were members of the ‘Operation Gong Gong’ and descended on him mercilessly. Having demoralized him through the beating, the soldiers pointed at the cows of their choice, which they later carted away. “They beat me to pulp and then went about pointing at the cows they preferred and took those animals away as I looked on helplessly,” he told Daily Guide mournfully. The victim said he later gathered that the soldiers acted upon the authorities of Nana Mprah Busumuru, a retired police officer and board member of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR). “The chief said he owns the land and can make any demands he so pleases,” the man said. “If the trend is not stemmed, a bloody confrontation could erupt, disturbing the peace of the town,” he said. Daily Guide learnt that the DCE of the area met the aggrieved residents to calm them down in order not to renew the age-long animosity between the settlers and indigenous people. The detachment of soldiers in the area was to support the police to maintain law and order following a civil disorder. Source: Daily Guide/Ghana