Kejetia Market traders protest police seizure of 'smuggled' textiles

Ghanaian

Tensions are escalating at Kejetia Market in Kumasi as cloth sellers protest against the police for raiding their shops and confiscating suspected smuggled goods.

On May 21, 2024, police officers and officials from textile companies seized textiles worth GH¢500,000, suspecting that the goods contained designs belonging to the textile companies.

In response, hundreds of traders at the market

Read full articlehave announced plans to close their shops on May 22, 2024, in protest against what they describe as harassment by the Ghana Police Service and certain textile companies.

They claim that a Kia truck loaded with textiles was unjustly impounded by officials.

Nana Yaa Boadu, the Queen Mother of Cloth Sellers at Kejetia and Chairperson of the Ashanti Regional Cloth Sellers Association, told OTEC News that the traders had committed no offense.

She emphasized that the seized textiles had passed all necessary documentation at the port, questioning the legitimacy of the police actions.

The traders plan to hold a large demonstration against the authorities, accusing the police and textile companies of harassment. They argue that the seized items were not smuggled and had adhered to all legal requirements.