The chiefs and people of Gbledi Traditional Area are hunting for the person who burnt portions of Afadzato, the highest mountain in Ghana, for the necessary punishment.

The highest mountain standing at 885 metres above sea level was seen burning in the early part of January 2025, which was against the local traditional practices of the people not to burn the bush, as a way of preserving the environ­ment and protect Afadzato.

Speaking to the Ghanaian Times at Gbledi in the Hohoe Munic­ipality of the Volta Region, the Paramount Chief of the Gbledi traditional area, Togbega Ho­matekpor V, said the traditional area prohibited bushfire aimed at preserving the vegetation and protect Afadzato since 1998.

Togbega Homatekpor continued that in the early part of January 2025, bushfire was unexpectedly seen near Afadzato and seeing this, the indigenous people hastily mobilized and quenched it, but the fire had already destroyed portions of the mountain.

According to the chief, it was later discovered that the bushfire emanated from charcoal burning, which resulted in the search of the person who committed the crime.

Togbega Homatekpor also stated that initially, perpetrators of such crime would pay for six bottles of schnapps and a ram, but nobody was convicted before, and when it was later discovered that people engaged in chainsaw operation in the environment and harvested economic trees, the police were involved to prosecute offenders, but no arrest has been made sense.

The chief, therefore, appealed to the government to, as a matter of importance, enforce laws on chainsaw operation and bushfire to punish offenders.

Moreover, he stressed that Afadzato served as one of the tourism attraction sites in the Mu­nicipality, which generates revenue for the assembly for development, therefore conscious efforts must be made to complement the efforts being made by the people to protect the mountain and the vegetation.

The Assemblyman for Gbledi Electoral Area, Mr Robert Atsu Okor, stressed the need for the residents to be vigilant at all times to arrest and punish people who were found destroying the vege­tation.