Following alleged mysterious disappearances of children at Amanase, a village near Adukrom of the Okere constituency in the Akwapim North District of the Eastern Region, irate youth recently took the law into their own hands and went berserk, destroying and burning the homes of a fetish priest called Kofi and his mother-in-law. The youth suspected that the fetish priest had been enticing little children with money and sweets and killing them for ritual purposes. In all, four houses including an uncompleted one being constructed by the fetish priest and hundreds of cement blocks were destroyed by the raging youth. They also marched to Adukrom, about seven kilometers from the village, and deflated the tyres of the car of the Omanhene of the area, Nana Otutu Kono, because they suspected that the chief had offered refuge to the fetish priest in his house. They ordered him to release the alleged ritual murderer to them to be beaten up. The youth were so enraged it took a combined team of policemen from Akropong, Adukrom, Okra Kwadjo and Koforidua to calm them. The Eastern Regional Security Committee members (RESEC), led by the Regional Minister, Mr. Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, on Monday visited the town after a long meeting at his residence to ascertain the truth of the matter, inspect the items and properties destroyed and also talked to the youth in the area. Other members accompanying the minister were the Deputy Regional Police Commander, Regional Crime Officer, and DCE for the area, George Opare, Nana Otutu Kono, Adukromhene. Addressing the gathering, the Minister said, “Ghana is not a lawless country and anybody who tries to take the law in to his or her own hands would be dealt with drastically without fear or favor.” He said instant justice never helped in the delivery of justice in any country, and that it is very important that every matter is reported to the police or the chief who is also obliged to report criminal matters to the police. He said two wrongs do not make a right; cautioning the youth in area to be careful, and that if the law catches up with any one of them, they would find it very difficult to escape. “If you have not seen war before, you will not respect peace,” he added. He appealed to the youth to respect the police and make conscious efforts to assist in the development of peace and unity in the area and the entire nation. Spectator investigations at the time of the visit revealed that children have indeed been getting missing mysteriously in the area for the past two years, for which reason the youth suspected the fetish priest (Kofi) for using the children for ritual purposes; hence their action. During the investigations, some youngsters alleged that on April 29, 2010 some apprentices of the fetish priest tried to lure a little girl in the town with a loaf of bread and toffee but she refused to collect them and reported the incident to her mother. They also accused the police for taking sides with the fetish priest to the extent of allegedly disguising him (fetish priest) by letting him wear a police uniform, to come to the town to remove his belongings during the attack on his house and go into hiding. Source: The Spectator