Chief Dramani Karim Gauso, Chief of Gauso, a suburb of Obuasi in the Obuasi West Municipality, has affirmed the determination and readiness of Nananom and stakeholders of the community to weed out criminals in the area.
Speaking at a community durbar to brief the members about recent attacks by a gang on some of the residents, Chief Karim disclosed that there had been a reported long standing feud between a group of young men in Gauso and their counterparts at Tutuka and other areas in Obuasi.
According to him, the people of Gauso were not violent, contrary to the perception among a cross-section of the people of Obuasi.
The durbar was aimed at affording the Chief and other stakeholders the opportunity to sensitise the people, especially the youth, to stay out of trouble.
Last week, a group of young men wielding guns allegedly from Estate, also a suburb of Obuasi, attacked residents of Gauso in what was suspected to be a reprisal attack.
The incident led to one person being injured, and properties destroyed.
This, he said, had resulted in the loss of innocent souls, while others suffered various degrees of injuries. The development, he said, compelled him, as Chief of the area, to meet with his people to admonish them to stay out of crime activities and other violent behaviour, since he had resolved not to shield anybody involved in such acts.
Nana Dramani Karim stressed that the residents of Gauso would not allow any individual or group of persons to drag the name of the community into the mud, because it had the potential of scaring away people from visiting the area, and could even affect the youth in securing jobs.
As a result, he intimated that the community had formed a taskforce to complement the efforts of the Unit Committee to fish out criminal elements that had been fomenting trouble in the area.
Chief Karim called on the stakeholders and Nananom of the community to resolve against pleading on behalf of recalcitrant persons or groups who would be arrested by the police.
According to the Chief, the police acted swiftly by arresting three members of the group and were currently facing trial.
Alhaji Yunusah Baba Iddrisu Ouro-ifa II, Chief of Adansi Kotokoli, also lamented on bad press reports, which the community had been attracting. He stressed that Gauso was not a violent community, and appealed to the residents to demonstrate good behaviour to vindicate the claim.
He advised the residents not to shield any criminal in the community and urged them to go by the “if you see something, say something” mantra, and entreated them to report any criminal activities to the police.
The Assembly Member for the area, Dauda Tahiru, was of the view that it was about time the youth realised the enormity of the bad name the community had been associated with.
He charged the youth to acquire employable skills and stay out of trouble.
The youth also pledged to abide by the advice of their elders, and disclosed that most of the people who committed the crimes in the area were not indigenes of Gauso, but hiding behind the name to perpetuate their criminal activities.
