Hanna Bissiw-Kotei Vows to Fight Galamsey Despite Death Threats
Minerals Development Fund Boss Receives Chilling Threats Over Anti-Illegal Mining Crusade
Edem Latsu Nukafu eljourno 
Administrator of the Minerals Development Fund (MDF) and NDC Women’s Organiser, Dr. Hanna Bissiw-Kotei, says she is undeterred by multiple death threats as she intensifies her fight against illegal mining (galamsey) ravaging parts of Ghana’s mining communities.
Speaking to the media after a community engagement at Atatam in the Adansi Asokwa District, Dr. Bissiw-Kotei disclosed that she and her family have received threatening messages—some including images of herself and her husband—aimed at intimidating her into silence.
“It is only a coward who threatens. If I want to slap you, I won’t warn you,” she declared defiantly.
■ Galamsey in Atatam: A Crisis Unfolds
Atatam, a small farming community surrounded by forest, has become a hotspot for illegal mining. The activities have decimated cocoa farms and plantain fields, ruined livelihoods, and threatened the very fabric of the local community.
Local chief Nana Kofi Sarfo Kantanka described the situation as dire.
“They came with guns and machetes to beat some of us when we complained. Now, no one dares to speak out,” he said.
■ Arrests and Seizures
Following the community outreach, a swift operation led to the arrest of six illegal miners, including four Chinese nationals. Authorities seized 15 excavators and uncovered weapons and ammunition from their base. It was also revealed that the Chinese miners had just cleared a cocoa farm to expand their operations.
■ School Under Threat
In a troubling development, the only public basic school in Atatam is now sandwiched between mining pits, raising fears over student safety and long-term access to education.
■ “Motherland or Death”
Despite the threats, Dr. Bissiw-Kotei says she will not back down.
“If you threaten me for doing good and I sit back, then I stop being a patriot. It is the motherland or death—we win, till the last drop of blood,” she said.
Residents are calling on the government to sustain the crackdown on illegal mining and protect communities like Atatam from environmental destruction and violence.
