The Wildlife division of the Forestry Commission is disputing murder allegations leveled against them by the Laribanga community near the Mole National Park in the Northern Region. Tension has been mounting between residents of the community and Wildlife park rangers since last month following the killing of a 35-year-old farmer near the park. Park rangers and police say the man was caught in a cross fire. The victim was also accused of being a poacher but his family and friends have dismissed the accusation. Lawyer for the community, Abraham Amaliba told Joy News that park rangers consistently harass members of the community. “You won’t believe it but the guards can go into the community and go to people’s kitchens, take ladles and scoop their soup to find out what kind of meat they are cooking,” he said. According to him, because of the constant harassment, the people of the community had stopped eating meat because whenever the guards see any community members cooking meat, “it means that that meat must have come from the reserve,” and the person is in trouble. Mr Amaliba said residents of the area are of the view that there should be clearly demarcated because the Game and Wildlife Division keep increasing the acreage of the park. But Executive Director of the Wildlife Division, Mike Adu-Nsiah disagreed with many of the issues raised by Mr Amaliba. He said guards of the division were not that insensitive to go round shooting innocent people. He said, contrary to the claims of residents of the community, his officers were rather being killed on a daily basis. Source: Joy News/Ghana