Terrorism threat: Interrogate strangers in your communities – COGINTA

Kpanfaa, (UW/R)-Ghana, Feb. 4, GNA – Mr Thomas Tindan Gurumbeog, the Upper West Regional Grounds Manager for COGINTA, has urged residents of rural communities to interrogate strangers in their areas in the wake of the threat of violent extremist activities.
He said violent extremists could visit communities in disguise or as people with mental illness to understudy the community to enable them to perpetuate their nefarious activities.
“We are not saying you should beat them. What we are saying is that you interrogate them and find out who they are and what they want.
Some people can come as mad people. Question them too”, Mr Gurumbeog said at a sensitisation programme at Kpanfaa and Tuole communities in the Wa West District.
The sensitisation was under the Mobilising for Peace and Cohesion (MPC) project being implemented by the Capacity Enhancement and Community Support (CAPECS) in selected border communities in the Wa West and Sissala West Districts.
It was under the COGINTA’s “Preventing Electoral Violence and Providing Security to the Northern Border Regions of Ghana” (NORPREVSEC) programme with funding from the European Union (EU).
The 10-month project sought to increase women’s engagement and involvement in the peace-building process and community development through their effective involvement in local development committees.
Mr Gurumbeog entreated the community residents to identify and interrogate people, especially youth, who suddenly exhibited strange behaviours such as avoiding friends and acquiring unexplained wealth and assist them appropriately as they could have links with violent extremist groups.
He also stressed the need for peaceful co-existence among the community members as a prerequisite for preventing the infiltration of people with negative intentions such as violent extremists into the community.
He observed that chieftaincy, land, and political disputes were breeding grounds for violent extremist activities to thrive and cautioned the people against that, saying, “The only thing that Ghana can use to prevent terrorist attacks is peace and unity in our communities.”
Mr Mustapha Sinto, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of CAPECS, encouraged the people to resolve conflicts amicably through dialogue rather than the use of “guns and machetes”.
He also encouraged the community members to take the education of their wards very seriously as that was the gateway to their personal and community development.
He said: “The project is to contribute to the prevention of violent extremism and to promote peaceful farmer-pastoralist co-existence in border communities in the Wa West and Sissala West Districts of the Region.
The people in the beneficiary communities thanked CAPECS, COGINTA, and their partners for choosing the Kpanfaa and Tuole communities to benefit from the project.
Mr Charles Saavroma, a visually impaired, who was the community mobiliser at Kpanfaa, indicated that through the project the community, especially the women, had eschewed petty quarrels and embraced unity.
He added that it had also helped revive the nearly collapsed elementary school in the community as parents had enrolled their wards and ensured they stayed in school.
“I pray God to bless them (CAPECS) for them to continue with their good works so that we can all reap the benefits from their activities,” Mr Saavroma said.