As illegal and small-scale mining contaminates rivers and soil, many worry President John Mahama will allow such practices to continue.
When activist Oliver Barker Vormawor saw reports in September that Ghana’s water agency would not be able to supply some parts of the country with water due to extreme contamination of main rivers from small-scale mining activities, he knew he had to do something.
Later in the month, dozens of concerned Ghanaians, led by Vormawor, took to the streets in the capital city, Accra, to protest President Nana Akufo-Addo’s inaction regarding the looming environmental catastrophe.
They vowed to put the matter to a public vote before the fiercely contested December general elections. But rather than get a reaction to their demands, Vormawor and several of his comrades were arrested and imprisoned for weeks on charges of illegal assembly.
