The incident, which occurred on 13th August 2024, has resulted in the Forestry Commission’s office being closed for the safety of the staff.
Narrating the incident to Daily Searchlight, a staff of the Akim Oda Forestry Commission’s office, who wants to remain anonymous, said they had to vacate their office following information of the massing of the aggrieved timber market workers.
The Forestry Commission staff said the office dispatched its monitoring team to Amentia, one of its ranges to work and while the team was on their way to the range, they encountered a car coming at top speed from the opposite direction, and just after the car passed they heard a loud noise.
“They saw that the car had hit a motor rider who was behind them. When they assessed the car, they realised it was a car carrying wood, but they continued on their journey to work,” the staff said.
After hearing of the tragic news, the Akyem Oda timber dealers organized to exact retribution, believing that the Oda Forestry Commission personnel were to blame for his demise.
They reasoned that this was not the first time their people had experienced such a dreadful tragedy.
“We started receiving calls and got information that the workers wanted to attack the staff, so we managed to get them a safe place,” the staff added.
The staff also said the incident was reported to the police, but some workers at the Timber Market had already gone to the office and destroyed some of its equipment.
Meanwhile, Madam Cynthia Okaine, the manager of the Akyem Oda Forestry Commission, refuted claims that the deceased man’s death was caused by an impact from a forestry car.
She mentioned that the dead was slain by an automobile owned by his (deceased) own people.
“I want to clarify that it is not our car that hit the motor rider but the car carrying the wood,” the staff said. “We have not been able to work the whole day because of the incident, everyone had to run for their lives.”
Meanwhile, personnel of the Akim Oda Divisional Police command and the military have since been deployed to the area to restore peace.
