Attacks on mobile money vendors across the country have become rampant in recent times
• General Secretary of the MMAAG says more than 200 MoMo agents have been attacked between January-June
• He says the robbery attacks have left some agents deformed
• He also disclosed that all efforts to engage the police for security of agents have proven futile
General Secretary of the Mobile Money Agents Association of Ghana (MMAAG), Evans Otumfuo, has disclosed that over 200 mobile money vendors have been attacked in the first half of 2021.
He made these revelations whiles speaking in an interview with Alfred Ocansey on 3FM’s Morning show on Tuesday June 22, 2021.
According to him, the association had records of violent crimes against members ranging from armed attacks, acid baths, gun shots incidents among others crimes that have left members deformed in some cases.
“They (the attacks) are numerous; what you are having, I want to believe are the officially reported ones to the police, but we have several records of robbery, acid bath and killings that unfortunately were not reported to the appropriate quarters for one reason or the other.
“So for now, I could say from January to June, that is the first half of 2021, we might be recording not less than 200 attacks on mobile money agents,” he stressed.
Otumfuo added that as a result of these attacks, huge sums of money have been taken from most of their agents.
He cited the particular case of an agent who became victim to the acid baths: “Kate Gyamfua, Gomoa Fete, they have poured acid on her and now, she’s deformed, she cannot see any longer, and her fate has been left to her alone with her family,” he lamented.
He also stressed the overall impact of such attacks on families that depend on agents whose loss tend to affect an entire chain of children and in some cases extended families.
He also disclosed that the group has been unsuccessful in securing a meeting with the police to discuss ways that they can be given adequate security to run their businesses.
Within the wider context of rising insecurity in the country, attacks on mobile money vendors have been identified as one of the common violent crimes recorded nationwide.