Tensions Flare as Sokoban-Apayoo Traders Clash with Atwima Kwawoma Taskforce Over Decongestion Exercise at Ampayoo High-Tension Area

choicenewsonlineJuly 25, 2025

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A decongestion exercise carried out by the Atwima Kwawoma District Assembly at the Sokoban-Apayoo High-Tension area has sparked chaos and outrage among local traders, who clashed with a taskforce deployed to clear unauthorized structures on Wednesday morning.

The operation, part of the Assembly’s broader strategy to restore order and ensure the free flow of traffic in the area, saw taskforce personnel dismantling shop gates and makeshift stalls along the busy Ampayoo high-tension stretch. Traders, however, resisted the move, expressing their displeasure and frustration over what they described as an inhumane and unjust eviction process.

“We’re just trying to survive,” one aggrieved trader lamented. “Where do they expect us to go?”

Scenes from the exercise showed traders confronting members of the taskforce, some weeping as their stalls were pulled down. Others pleaded for leniency, citing the dire economic conditions and lack of alternative sources of income. Many of the affected traders have operated from the area for years, and the sudden eviction has left them devastated.

“This is where we get our daily bread. We have children in school, rent to pay, and families to feed. Taking away our shops without offering us an alternative is heartless,” another trader told newsmen during an emotional interview.

The clash has reignited the age-old struggle between enforcing urban planning regulations and protecting vulnerable livelihoods. According to the traders, the eviction is being orchestrated to make way for a private businesswoman to establish a lorry terminal at the high-tension location — a claim that has further fueled tensions and accusations of bias and favoritism against the Assembly.

“They are not doing this for development. They are doing it to help one woman start her own lorry station. Why should all of us suffer for one person’s gain?” a trader fumed.

Despite the allegations, the Atwima Kwawoma District Assembly has maintained that the exercise is part of an ongoing effort to sanitize public spaces and rid the district of illegal trading activities, particularly in areas that pose safety and environmental concerns.

No injuries were reported during the confrontation, but the mood in Sokoban-Apayoo remains tense, with affected traders calling on authorities to provide designated trading spaces before any further evictions are carried out.

“This is where we make ends meet. They’ve thrown our goods away like we don’t matter. We’re not criminals — we’re just poor people trying to survive.”

As the dust settles, residents and community leaders are urging the Assembly to engage with the traders in dialogue to find a sustainable and peaceful resolution to the growing unrest.