KMA Officers Injured, Vehicles Vandalised During Adum Demolition Exercise in Kumasi

• Three KMA officers sustained injuries after residents attacked an Assembly task force during a demolition exercise at Adum
• Residents resisting the removal of structures along waterways vandalised Assembly vehicles, including a pickup truck and an excavator
• Kumasi Mayor Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi vowed the Assembly would continue the exercise despite the attack

Three officers of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) were injured, and several Assembly vehicles and equipment were vandalised after residents clashed with a demolition taskforce at a site behind the COCOBOD building at Adum, near the Asafo Overpass, on July 8.

The task force had been deployed to pull down what the KMA classified as illegal structures built along drainage channels in the area.

Joy News reported that the Assembly said the exercise was part of broader preparations to desilt major drains ahead of the peak rainy season, to reduce the risk of flooding in the city.

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Kumasi Mayor Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi confirmed the extent of the damage, stating that the Assembly lost a pickup truck and had an excavator vandalised during the confrontation, in addition to the three or four officers who were hurt.

"Some of our vehicles have been vandalised. We have lost one pick-up in the process, an excavator was vandalised, and about three or four of our officers were injured."

Residents dispute Assembly's account

Citi News reported that some of those affected by the demolition offered a contrasting account.

"We paid money before they gave us the land."

The dispute over prior notice adds a layer of controversy to the KMA's enforcement drive, with residents maintaining that their occupation of the land was lawful rather than the encroachment the Assembly described.

This incident came ahead of the July 10 and 11 general cleaning declared by the government in response to the June 29 flooding.

Source: YEN.com.gh