The
Forestry Commission has lamented the killing of a ranger of the Wildlife Division during an anti-poaching patrol at the Kakum Conservation Area in the Central Region.
Richard Otwey, a Senior Ranger with the Kakum Conservation Area, was killed on Saturday, August 22, 2026, after he and three colleagues encountered two suspected poachers during a patrol near the Briscoe 2 Camp, close to the Kruwa community.
The late Otwey, 58, was shot in the chest after the patrol team attempted to apprehend two men allegedly hunting in the protected forest.
Police said the suspected shooter, identified as Bukari Abudu, fled into the forest while the other suspect, John Mensah, was arrested.
According to the Forestry Commission, the patrol team had established an ambush after detecting an active poachers’ path on Friday, August 21.
At about 5:15 a.m. on Saturday, the team spotted two torchlights approaching their position and prepared to arrest the suspects.
Discovering Regional Botanical Gardens
The Commission said the suspects were ordered to surrender but fled in different directions.
Otwey, who was closely behind one of the suspects, was shot to death” after the suspect dropped a sack he was carrying, turned around and fired at him, the Commission said.
The second suspect, Mensah, was subsequently arrested and, according to the Commission, identified Abudu as the alleged shooter. Abudu remains at large, with the Police Service and Forestry Commission continuing efforts to arrest him.
A search of the area resulted in the recovery of two single-barrel shotguns and carcasses of several wild animals, including brush-tailed porcupines, African giant rats, a Maxwell duiker, Mona monkeys and an olive colobus monkey.
The Commission said Otwey’s body was retrieved from the forest and conveyed to the Abura Dunkwa Government Hospital mortuary pending autopsy and further investigations.
The killing comes amid growing concerns over attacks on frontline wildlife personnel. The Forestry Commission said the incident is the third in 2026 in which Wildlife Division field staff have been shot at or killed by suspected poachers.
It cited the killing of Raphael Ganyo of the Kalakpa Resource Reserve and the shooting and serious injury of Abukari Sumani at the Gbele Resource Reserve. Another Wildlife Division officer was also reportedly abducted at Bui National Park before colleagues found and rescued him.
The Commission has renewed its call for government clearance to recruit more than 2,500 staff to strengthen its field operations.
It also appealed to the judiciary for speedy hearings and tougher punishments for forest offenders, arguing that stronger enforcement would serve as a deterrent.
Moreover, the Commission urged forest-fringe communities to report suspected illegal activities to the police or Forestry Commission offices.
The Wildlife Division reminded the public that Ghana’s annual closed season, which runs from August 1 to December 1, remains in force.
During the period, hunting, capturing, and killing wild animals are prohibited, except for grasscutter hunting as provided under the Wildlife Conservation Regulation 1971, (LI 685)