THREE X'TRA GOLD EMPLOYEES PROSECUTED (Page 20)

Story: A. Kofoya-Tetteh, Anyinam

THREE employees of X’tra Gold, a gold mining company operating in the Kwabeng area in the Eastern Region, who were alleged to have brutally assaulted a local businessman, Alhaji Mustapha Boateng and his driver, Osman Boateng, have been arraigned before the Anyinam District Magistrate’s Court.
The accused, Emmanuel Kandanuba, 34, Dick Keli, 42, both mechanics and Andrews Dawutey, pleaded not guilty to assault and were granted GH¢1,000 bail each, after which the judge, Mr Lawrence Buer, allowed the case to be settled out of court.
That was after an opinion leader of Kwabeng, Abusuapanin W.K. Abuakua, told the court that he wanted the case settled out of court, because he was related to one of the accused persons and the complainants.
Presenting the facts of the case to the court, the prosecutor, Inspector Rockson Doku, said on January 27, this year, the three accused persons, together with others on the run, brutally assaulted Alhaji Mustapha and his driver after they had questioned the Alhaji about some heaped sand on the road near the site of X’tra Gold at Kwabeng which had partially blocked traffic.
He said the accused and the others at large became offended and pounced on the complainants and assaulted them mercilessly until they sustained injuries.
According to Inspector Doku, Alhaji Mustapha Boateng, whose case was serious, was first taken to the Enyiresi Hospital, which referred him to the Suhum Government Hospital where he was treated and discharged..
Granting the request for out-of-court settlement, the judge said he had taken into consideration the need to ensure cordial relations between employees of the company, most of who were migrant workers and the local people.
Mr Buer told the court that he had had reports of all forms of criminal acts and other forms of lawlessness on the part of some workers of the company.
He thus warned that he would not tolerate such deviant behaviours and, therefore, advised the accused to co-exist peacefully with the local people.
The judge asked the Abusuapanin to report the result of the arbitration to the court.