Exactly a year ago, I left school around 9:30am feeling very sick but there was no way I could miss this unprecedented press conference. I headed straight to Obuasi Maclean Joint where the press conference was to take place. I met Eddie of Shaft FM when I got there.
“Good Morning”.
“Good Morning”.
“Have you seen Prince Kwame Aboagye around”, I asked.
“No”, he replied.
“Is the press conference not coming on here?”, I inquired.
“I heard it will take place at the Cofkans Hotel”, he answered.
“Really?”
Ring…Ring…Ring..Ring.
“Good Morning, Prince, I am at Maclean but no one is here. Has the venue been changed?”
“No. no. no, wait for me there, I am on my way”.
After been assured by the Convener of the Obuasi Must Not Die Coalition, I knew I was at the right place.
Prince Arrives
I walked to the counter and ordered for Lucozade energy drink.
“Can I get water to dilute it”
“Let me bring you some sachet water, are you okay with it?”
“Yes please”, I answered in a low tone.
I poured half of the drink into a disposable cup and added water to it. I took two sips and as I was able to add my third, I heard the sound of a taxi at the entrance. Seconds later, Prince Aboagye walked in.
“Charles, lets go so that you print the statement at Amangoase”, he said.
“Okay”.
I tried drinking my remaining drink in the disposable cup before leaving but I couldn’t keep Prince waiting.
“I will come back for my change”, I told the dark beautiful figure at the counter.
Security concerns
“We have requested for police protection but the place is still without any security”, Prince said when we got into the taxi.
“Hmmm…”
“I heard some ‘galaseyers’ are planing to disrupt the press conference that’s why I am more concerned that there is no security around as at this time”, Prince continued.
“They said they came to survey the place earlier this morning”, he concluded.
“That doesn’t explain their absence”, I started getting involved in the conversation.
“By the way, why would the galamseyers decide to disrupt the press conference? They don’t even know what we are going to talk about. Do they?” I inquired.
I got down at Amangoase to print the press statement at a printing press opposite the cemetery. Prince went on with the driver to see to other things.
After 30 minutes, I had printed the three pages statement and photocopied 30 times.
I called Prince afterwards.
“Prince, I am done, where are you”
“Give me some few minutes, I will be there”, he replied.
Sammy Saves the Day
After waiting for 5 minutes, I started planing of a way to get to the Obuasi Black park again. Black park is a large space infront of the Len Clay Stadium and that is where Maclean Joint is located.
“Charles, Charles”, I heard someone calling my name.
I looked and saw Sammy Tuga Atafo on his motorbike.
“Are you not going for the press conference”, he asked.
“I am on my way there”, I said.
“Come on and lets go”.
I rushed to join Sammy on his bike on the other side of the road.
“Good Morning”.
“Good Morning”
“I am going to do some report for a BBC reporter who contacted me. He is coming to Obuasi tomorrow”, he said.
“Are you referring to Ed Butner?” I asked.
“Yes, you know him”, he inquired.
“He contacted me by mail to arrange some meetings with some stakeholders for him”, I explained.
“Oh, okay”.
Hostile Environment
On reaching Maclean Joint, we saw a lot of galamseyers outside the venue. One thick man pretended to be making a call but I saw him signalling to someone with his eyes to look at us. I immediately sensed danger.
“This place is not safe”, I told Sammy.
“I am sure of that”, he affirmed my fears.
“Lets go inside and see whats happening there”, I told Sammy.
Inside the venue, all the chairs were filled with the galamseyers.
“If they decide to proceed with the press statement, we will beat them”, I overheard a well built man saying.
I pretended I didn’t know what was going on there.
I walked straight to the counter with the press statements in a brown envelope under my armpit.
“I am coming for my change, I hope you remember me?, I asked the dark beautiful figure at the counter.
After taking my money, I walked some few meters from the counter in the direction of the Maclean cold room where some dressmakers were having some sort of practical work.
Standing some few distance from the dressmakers were Sammy Tuga, Jeff Jnr and other few journalists. We all agreed on one thing, “The place isn’t safe for the conference”.
I had to call Prince and I had to call Joel Asiaw, who was to bring a camera to the venue to meet me and who might possibly be in his Obuasitoday.com lacoste (That will be a disaster considering the fact that the galamseyers thought Obuasitoday.com was organising the press conference). I had to be smart and quick.
I called Prince for the third time that morning.
“Prince, please the venue is not safe. Lets change it. Lets go elsewhere”, I told Prince.
“Wait for me, I am coming there”, he said.
“You don’t understand, I mean the whole place has been flooded by the galamseyers and I believe they are not coming to listen to the press statement”, I tried to explain.
“I am coming over”, he ended.
Leave or Be Beaten
I saw one galamseyer picking up a chair and directly coming to sit at where the journalists were standing.
“Its time to move”, I told myself.
I started making a fake call whiles I started making my way out of the venue.
“I can’t hear you well”
“Speak louder”.
“Where did you say you are standing?”
“Okay okay, I am meeting you now, just keep standing there”
Outside Maclean, I saw some galamseyers holding machete and metal strips. I realized my fake call needed to intensity here.
“Can’t you understand what I am saying?”
“I am at Maclean. Tell me again where you are standing. Are you the one in the blue shirt?”
“I can see you. Meet me, don’t just stand there.”
By the end of the last sentence, I was at the AGA bus stop at the Black park opposite the Assemblies of God church. Turning back, I saw Jeff Jnr and the other journalists been escorted by other galamseyers who didn’t want them to be beaten. I saw other galamseyers who wanted to attack them. I had to then quicken my steps. I walked on the Baptist road and entered the Assemblies of God church through their sideway entrance. After some few seconds, I saw Jeff Jnr and the other journalists.
“Don’t go back there”, Jeff signalled.
“You don’t have to say it”, I said in my head.
I quickly called Joel to come over to the Assemblies of God church instead of the Maclean joint.
As I was waiting for Joel, hiding behind the metal gate at the entrance of the church facing the Black Park, I saw Sammy Tuga walking at the side of the stadium road. It was weird since he went there with his motorbike. When he got to the NPP office, I signalled him to come over to where I was standing. When he got closer, I realized he has got this red eye which was absent some few minutes earlier when we rode together to the venue. He intermittently torches his eyes with his hand and look back at his hand as if he felt blood was coming from his face.
“The people have beaten me and taken my motor. They said they are going to burn it. One was them was even trying to tell them I am not part of the orgainsers but they didn’t listen. I am going to report at the Police station and then go to the clinic”, he said.
I stood there speechless.
Cofkans Hotel at last
I had to make a last call. A very important one which will determine whether I had to go back to school or move to another location.
“Good Morning, sir”
Good Morning, Charles”
“Please, do you have any idea where the press conference will likely come on. I still have the press statement and Maclean is flooded with galamseyers”, I asked him.
“Some of the journalists are at Cofkans, go over there. They chose there as an alternative so I think you have to there”.
That was the confirmation I needed. I took a taxi with Joel at the entrance of the Church straight to the Cofkans Hotel.
Tensions were high even at the ‘secured’ hotel. A police vehicle later came which provided a little solace but failed to totally drive out the fear that had gripped us.
After 30 minutes, Prince Aboagye joined by Akwesi Agudey and Ghanaba Justice sat infront of the camera. Sitting two persons away from them and surrounded by cameras and tape recorders from all the big media houses in Ghana, I gazed at the three people willing to show their faces and risk everything for Obuasi to work. I asked myself, “From here, whats next”. I was scared of the future that waited for us outside. I created a Facebook page for this movement and within a day, we had gotten over 150 likes. I had design banners to support the case on social media but doing all these, I least expected our lives were at risk. We had received a call that one Shaft FM presenter has been assaulted and was at the hospital.I knew our lives were never going to be the same again.
“Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of the press: good morning. I am glad you could join us today for this important press conference. I am particularly grateful to those of you who travelled from Kumasi and other places to be with us…”, Prince’s voice echoed the room. The press conference was on!
Walking in the hot sun to school after the conference, I looked at the desperate market women who needed Obuasi to rise for them to make some money for their families. I saw the desolated entrance to the Mine offices at Fagum. Obuasi Must not die. Obuasi must work. It’s now or never!
“We did the right thing”, I told myself.