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Claim: A lawmaker with Ghana’s ruling party, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, claims that a group of young people trained to protect the country’s water bodies against illegal mining, known as Blue Water Guards, is armed.
Verdict: False. DUBAWA’s investigations showed that the members of the Blue Water Guards are not armed, as the lawmaker alleged. The country’s Lands Minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, revealed that the guards are not armed, but operate as “spies” for the navy.
Full Text
A legislator with Ghana’s governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has alleged that the young people recruited as blue water guards to protect the country’s water bodies against illegal mining are armed.
Ghana is battling with illegal mining, locally known as galamsey, that is destroying water bodies and the environment.
The government has implemented several measures to control and contain the menace, including deploying blue water guards.
The country’s Lands Minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, said the guards will be stationed in riverine communities to prevent further destruction by illegal miners.
The previous government, led by President Nana Akufo-Addo, deployed river guards to protect water bodies in 2024.
Speaking to Accra-based Joy News, Rockson-Nelson said the current blue water guards are different from those of the past regime because they are armed to drive away illegal miners.
“You [opposition New Patriotic Party] introduced water guards, yes, I agree. But your water guards were chased out by armed persons to the teeth. Your water guards were not armed. We have varied that formula. Our water guards are armed; the blue water guards are armed. As we speak, just last week they conducted operations and drove away armed bearing groups who were mining in some areas that they had gone to enter,” the ruling party’s lawmaker said.
Rockson-Nelson commented from minutes 30:22 to 30:54 of the video the media outlet posted on its YouTube channel.
Excerpts of the lawmaker’s comment have been shared widely on social media here and here.
YouTube data showed the video has received over 5,409 views and 35 comments in less than 24 hours since it was posted.
DUBAWA decided to probe the claim as part of its campaign against misinformation and disinformation in Ghana.
Verification
DUBAWA’s research disclosed that the members of the Blue Water Guards are not armed, as the lawmaker alleged.
The country’s Lands Minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, revealed that the guards are not armed, but operate as “spies” for the navy.
“They [blue water guards] will be the ears and first responders, so that rapid response by the navy and all these bases will take place,” the minister said.
Responding to whether the guards could arrest illegal miners, the Lands Minister said they do not have that power.
“In their training, we told them that they are not soldiers, but they are more like security officers, they are first responders,” he said.
See minutes 53:01 to 53:58 for Armah-Kofi Buah’s comment in the Accra-based Joy News video posted on YouTube.
Also, the state-owned newspaper Daily Graphic reported Armah-Kofi Buah as saying the navy-trained guards are not armed.
Meanwhile, Dominic Nitiwul, a former Defence Minister, cautioned the current government about the dangers of deploying unarmed guards to patrol water bodies.
“I just want to caution the minister to be careful what you says because the questions are, will those boys [water guards] be armed? If they are not armed, how are you going to tell them who are going to face illegal miners who are armed? The minister should be careful what he is doing; otherwise, we may have a bigger problem down the line with our arms,” he said.
Conclusion
Contrary to Rockson-Nelson’s allegation, the government’s blue water guards, deployed to protect Ghana’s water bodies against illegal mining, are not armed.
