Security Consultant Richard Kumadoe has raised concerns over the misuse of traditional festival platforms in Ghana to settle personal scores, often with deadly consequences.

His remarks followed the tragic death of Fatima, a second-year student at Bimbilla Senior High School, who was killed by a stray bullet during the annual Fire Festival in Bimbilla, Nanumba North Municipality in the Northern Region.

The incident occurred as a crowd moved in procession from the regent’s palace to Wampu Dam, where festival rituals were expected to take place on July 6.

Speaking in an interview on TV3, Mr Kumadoe shared his concerns, calling for urgent reforms in arms control and festival security.

“Traditional festivals have become vulnerable grounds where people want to settle scores,” he said. “The traditional authorities and the particular chiefs in general have no control over those who come there with those arms, let alone the types of arms they will want them to possess.”

He linked the presence of deadly weapons at festivals and funerals to a lack of oversight in arms licensing and control.

“There are certain categories of individuals in this country whose official business is to import arms into Ghana as a legitimate business. Considering the fact that arms keep spilling off into the hands of illegitimate people, I think we need to consider the due diligence process in that particular area.”

He called for strict background checks and improved registration systems.

“There has to be a strict background check on who is eligible to own a weapon and what type of weapon they are supposed to own. Then the renewal and the registration licensing with the police will have to be enhanced so we can monitor to see where the arms are going.”

He also warned about unlicensed local arms production, saying, “We have a major challenge with people who manufacture arms locally. I will have a word with my brother, Dr Adam Bona, who is a renowned security analyst, and see how they can come up with a strategy to collate all these centres and have a monitoring mechanism.”

Mr Kumadoe pointed to a broader failure of the state to enforce laws.

“Non-punishment of offences will always rationalise bad behaviour and promote anti-social tendencies in society,” he said. “The state itself has lost track when it comes to punitive actions or punishing people who flaunt our laws.”

On the misuse of firearms at social events, he added, “We have also moved from just traditional authorities holding festivals to funerals as well. Funerals for certain categories of people are being accompanied by the shooting of guns, and those who shoot these guns have no legitimacy and sometimes have no association with the family.”

Describing Fatima’s death, he rejected the notion of it being a random event. “This cannot be a stray bullet. This is an amateur. This is somebody who wants to settle a score, and this is somebody who misbehaved.”

He urged the government to take control of the situation before more lives are lost. “It has become high time the state itself takes a central control or takes a centre stage in monitoring or coming up with guidelines as to how traditional festivals, those that are associated with the shooting of guns, are being done.”