Unconfirmed report from Gbarnga, Bong County says some group of gangsters living in the Methodist Bush are planning to establish an armed robbery quarter in the County to terrorize peaceful citizens.Methodist Bush is an area behind the William V.S. Tubman Gray High School in Gbarnga where a lot of young people go to consume harmful substances including tramadol, marijuana and cocaine, among others.
The report further says the suspects have already established their own government in the bush which comprises, and have put in place their own illegal officers that are trained to jerk cell phones and burst doors at night to make away with their victims’ valuables.
The head of the group is charged with the responsibility of collecting stolen materials from suspected criminal agents who are sent in the field to steal.Before travelling to India, Bong County Police Commander Fredrick Nappy is reported to have tried to rehabilitate suspects in the area, but the intervention appears to be fruitless as the number of young people in the Methodist Bush continues to increase on a daily basis.
One of their ringleaders, Morris Bass (CKA Papie) did not confirm to our correspondent about the establishment of their own armed robbery quarter.However, Morris said any action exhibited by the group will be attributed to the alleged failure of the government to provide the necessary environment for their wellbeing as less-fortunate youths.
“The government needs to help us as less fortunate youth, we need rehabilitation center where we can go and learn things that will benefit us tomorrow,” he said “It doesn’t mean we want to be stealing. We do not want to remain in the street but we are constrained to do so because we have been abandoned by those who need to help us,” he added.While speaking with our Bong County correspondent, Papie was being guarded by three of his able body men, saying they will not allow anyone to harm him.
He told our correspondent that lots of his colleagues are willing to be rehabilitated but this will only work if the government or non-governmental organizations provide the enabling environment.
“People saying that we want to establish our own barrack, well, I can’t tell you yes or no. But I can say that anything we do, no one will blame us because they do not want to help us change,” Moses continued.
He claimed that the police know that they are living in the bush, but he thinks the police are afraid to go to them.“If not, they already know that we are not harming anyone, maybe that is the reason they are not chasing us,” Papie argued.He said no police officer can step in their area on grounds that the Methodist Bush is their territory and he is the head of the place.
“Right now, I am in the Methodist Bush with my guys and we are there. No we are not harming anyone, we only take in our drugs and sometimes I send my guys to the market to buy our food and we eat and sleep. That’s all,” he explained.Our correspondent says this is the first time for suspected criminal activities to go this extreme in the county where the suspects would defy the police.By Joseph Titus Yekeryan in Bong–Edited by Winston W. Parley
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