Kplejoo Festival: Two killed, three injured as Navy clashes with Kplejoo groups in Tema Newtown

Two men were reported dead and three injured when some Kplejoo groups clashed with the Navy at Tema Newtown during the final procession of the Kplejoo festival.

The Ghana News Agency (GNA) gathered that as part of the festival, the groups on the evening of Friday, April 12, 2024, went on their usual annual procession throughout the streets of Tema Newtown.

The groups, who were allegedly stopped from using the street in front of the Eastern Naval Base, defiled the orders of the Navy and took that route.

This, the GNA learnt, led to a clash between the two, during which some members of the youth group started throwing bottles, and the Navy counterparts responded with some gunshots towards them.

The shooting, however, led to the deaths of the two, whose bodies have been deposited at the mortuary, while the three are on admission at the Tema General Hospital.

Mr. Adjei Tetteh, one of the injured victims, told the GNA at his bedside that he was part of the Asafo group and was in charge of the barrier mounted at the Tema Newtown bridge area.

He said per instructions, they were supposed to send the metal barricades to the naval base junction when it was 20:00 hours so that, those going towards community one could easily get transportation without any problem.

He indicated that upon reaching the naval junction, he could hear some gunshots from afar, and the navy personnel were preventing people from using the road in front of the base, adding that the gunshots became intense, so, he decided to run away, only for him to realise that his feet had become stiff with blood oozing out.

Meanwhile, the Navy has assured that it will soon issue a press release on the issue as indicated by officials at the base.

GNA