Richard Kumadoe, a security consultant, has lamented that Traditional festivals have become vulnerable grounds where people want to settle scores.
Speaking in an interview on TV3, Mr Kumadoe detailed, “Traditional festivals have become vulnerable grounds where people want to settle scores. 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.”
“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.”
“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.”
Richard Kumadoe noted, “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.”
“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.”
“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.”
His comments come following a student of Bimbilla Senior High School was confirmed dead in Bimbilla during the celebration of the Fire Festival on Saturday, July 5.
Reports suggest, the victim has been identified as Fatima.
According to reports, the student was hit in the neck by a stray bullet fired by a celebrant during the festival and died instantly.
The victim’s body has since been sent to the hospital morgue by security personnel.
However, Richard Kumadoe also asserted that the Bimbilla SHS student’s gunshot, leading to her death, cannot be a stray bullet.
He added, “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.”
“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.”
