Ghana Pursues Miners In Alleged U.S. Army Uniforms

Could Ghana be under the watchful eye of imperialist powers due to its budding friendship with the AES, the Alliance of Sahel States that includes Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger?

This question arises in light of a recent incident involving armed illegal gold miners allegedly blocking Ghanaian forestry officials from cracking down on their operations in the gold-rich Ashanti region’s forestry reserve. Locals refer to illicit gold mining as ‘galamsey.’

Investigative journalist Erastus Asare Donkor (@erastus4lif on X) shared photos on social media allegedly showing these ‘galamsey miners’ dressed in what seems to be US military attire (though there has been no official confirmation from Accra) and armed with military-grade assault rifles. Further reports indicate that forestry officials, along with security forces, have detained several illegal miners and seized weapons and excavators.

Since President John Mahama took office in January, the US embassy invited a group of Ghanaians, one of whom is a well-known blogger (@sikaofficial1 on X), for a meeting a few weeks ago. Another social media influencer (@gyaigyimii on X) recently posted an image filled displaying the EU flag, calling for ‘collaboration’ and ‘international support.’ Additionally, West African history enthusiast Tommy Miles (@tommymiles on X) recently uncovered an anti-China bot farm operating in Ghana, which he suspects is part of a coordinated US digital strategy to undermine China-Ghana relations. Mahama has publicly advocated for enhanced trade with China, Ghana’s biggest trading partner.

Mahama also shocked many by revealing that declassified US documents indicate the CIA was behind the 1966 coup that ousted Ghana’s first president, the visionary Pan-Africanist Kwame Nkrumah (1909-72). He made this statement on 6 March during Ghana’s 68th Independence Day celebrations. Just two days later, he began a tour of the Sahel states, which he described as a trust-building mission between the anti-imperialist AES and the Western-aligned Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).