I’m living in Bolgatanga and I’ve recently heard of a few highway robberies in the Norther, Upper East and Upper West Regions. A Ghanaian friend was traveling from Tamale to Wa, but there was no vehicle, so he went to Techiman and haggled a share taxi from there. However, the passengers were thieves. Part-way along the road from Techiman he was robbed of all his possessions and cash and left by the roadside. Apparently this kind of set-up is becoming more common. My Ghanaian partner explained that the thieves survey passengers waiting at taxi and trotro stations and relay the information to partners somewhere along route. The station thieves then either board the vehicle themselves or relay the departure time. Down the highway the thieves in waiting will set up some kind of road block and then rob the passengers. I heard of this kind of robbery happening in daylight between Navrongo and Bolga about 2 months ago when I met the robbed white travelers in a net cafe in Bolga. They also lost everything. The road from Mole continuing on to Wa is notorious for this. Even a bunch of Ghanaians selling cocoa in Accra were trailed all the way back to the Western Region and then robbed of all their cash by the robbers who trailed them. When we were biking back from Navrongo to Bolga one day I noticed a group of about ten youths sitting in a baobab tree with machetes. I asked my partner if they were robbers and he said they probably were, but they’d only be interested in full vehicles, not us on a bike. Excellent, but not very reassuring really. I was also set up and robbed this way between Elmina and Cape 2 years ago. You can read more at my blog http://gisforghana.blogspot.com I fought back and luckily it was a happy ending, but not so for many. While this seems frightening, it’s not all that bad. My suggestion is to not carry anything you mind losing when traveling over distances in Ghana. If it’s possible to have a base from which to springboard, leave your valuables there. I used to leave cash in my locked suitcase or a safe in the organisation where I was volunteering and only took what I needed. It might seem like overkill, but you could strap cash to your calves under long pants (your shoes might get stolen–unless flip flops). Also, have a second wallet hidden. I use one where I keep a token sum I don’t mind handing over (20 Cedis seems good enough) and keep the real cash hidden. I hope this helps.
Gayle Pescud
