The atmosphere at Revolution Square in Accra turned tense Sunday evening during a vigil organized by the #FixTheCountry movement, held ahead of a planned march against illegal mining, widely known as galamsey. Convened by #FixTheCountry leader Oliver Barker-Vormawor, the event aimed to highlight the severe destruction of Ghana’s environment and vital water bodies caused by this illegal practice, with the main protest march scheduled for Monday, September 22.

During the vigil, Mustapha Gbande, who serves as Deputy Director of Operations at the Presidency and Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), arrived at the square to engage with protesters. His intention was to reassure them that the government was actively working to address the galamsey crisis. However, his presence was met with fierce resistance from the crowd. Protesters loudly hooted at him, shouted him down, and dramatically ordered him to leave the grounds, insisting that the vigil was a strictly non-partisan event where political figures were unwelcome. Amidst chants from the crowd, one protester emphatically stated, “If Ghanaians were convinced of what the NDC government said, we wouldn’t be here. So please leave here, let’s exercise our right in peace. NDC leaders, please leave here. We are going to send you a petition tomorrow. We are going to engage you tomorrow, so please leave. Away! Away! No political party here. We don’t want to see any political party here. We are not here to engage any political party.” Despite Mr. Gbande’s attempts to calm the situation, protesters refused to listen and eventually forced him to depart the venue.

Many demonstrators seized the opportunity to vehemently criticize the government’s approach to fighting galamsey, accusing authorities of unfairly targeting small-scale operators while powerful figures involved in illegal mining continued to evade justice. One angry protester challenged, “Anyone mentioned in that galamsey report by Prof Frimpong-Boateng, in any serious jurisdiction, all those criminals, those thugs are supposed to be cooling off in Nsawam Prison. Stop going after those little boys in the pit. Go after the real kingpins. To be honest with you, the President has disappointed us. Eight months into your government, we’ve not seen any action, but each day the Ghana Police are arresting the small boys.” Others expressed disappointment over the low turnout of young people, urging them to recognize the fight against galamsey as a critical matter of national survival, warning that “Very soon there will be no water flowing through the taps.” Another protester accused the President of being misled by advisors who claimed there was no need for a state of emergency, stressing that the galamsey crisis transcends party politics. “This protest is not about any political party or their interest, it’s about our common survival as a people. The President is becoming a disaster if he doesn’t act fast and hard on galamsey,” the protester stated.

The devastating human and environmental cost of galamsey was brought to the forefront by a young protester, who identified himself as “DD” and emotionally explained that his name meant “Desperate Desmond” due to the crisis. He expressed profound fear for his life and the future of Ghana’s rivers and wildlife. “If we drink the galamsey water, we will die, and I am afraid to die, and I don’t want to die. I am too young to die. So the president should help us, I don’t want to die right now, I want to live long,” he pleaded to the crowd. The youngster also passionately spoke about the broader environmental damage, stating that animals and fish were being driven away by contaminated waterways, threatening food sources and ecosystems. “We have a lot of animals and a lot of living things, nice fishes, a lot of animals. If the galamsey water spoils them, we can’t see them again. We won’t even see fish to eat. We can’t even swim in the water bodies again, so please galamsey should stop. Stop galamsey now! Save and protect the children, stop galamsey now!”

The vigil continued late into the night, with organizers reaffirming that the main protest march would proceed on Monday, September 22. This planned demonstration is expected to draw even greater attention to the escalating environmental crisis caused by galamsey and intensify pressure on the government to take decisive action against all those fueling the illegal mining trade.