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Why minding your biz doesn’t always work.

Francis, Ernest, and the acid chronicles.

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Chale News
November 21, 2024

In today’s news:

  • Crime: Tile cleaning turned soap opera—acid got involved, and now we’re all asking, “Why, Ernest, why?”

  • Agriculture: Rice farmers to the government: “PFJ Phase II? Sounds like vibes and inshallah so far!”

  • National: If it doesn’t spark peace, let it go. SWAT, it’s not you—it’s your vibe.

  • National: Ghanaian soldiers caught in the middle of a rocket “Oops, wrong address!” moment on peacekeeping duty in Lebanon.

  • Fact of the Day: The Twitter bird actually had a name.

  • Crime: A container that was supposed to hold vehicles and “personal effects” instead contained enough firepower for an action movie.

  • Politics: Samira Bawumia believes her husband, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is Ghana’s golden ticket to progress in 2024.

  • Sports: The Ghana Football Association is about to say "sorry" to Ghanaians for the Black Stars' AFCON 2025 failure.

  • Politics: PNC is in "we're still deciding" mode ahead of the December polls, leaving Ghanaians guessing which way they'll go.

QUICK BYTE

  • You’re called to help clean tiles, thinking, "Cool, I’ll scrub and vibe." Then suddenly, acid flies. That’s what allegedly went down when Ernest Agyei, a house help, chucked a whole container of acid at Benjamin Asante over a petty argument. Now, Ernest is out on bail, rocking a GH¢50,000 price tag, while Benjamin is still trying to process how a cleaning gig landed him in the hospital for three months. Want the deets in full? Check out the Deep Dive section.

  • The government drops PFJ Phase II with all the hype of a blockbuster sequel. But for rice farmers, it’s like “What I ordered” vs “What I got”. Nana Adjei Ayeh II, the man speaking for Ghana’s rice farmers, says the programme looks nice on brochures, but in real life, it’s giving “nothing to see here.” Farmers are still stuck with outdated seeds and tools that feel like they belong in a museum. Get the 411 in the Deep Dive section below

  • So, Ghana Customs hit the jackpot—but not the good kind. A 40-foot container from the U.S. labeled "personal effects" turned out to be a secret arsenal: 53 pistols, 74 magazines, and 65 live rounds were chilling in suitcases. Arrests have been made. Fake it till you make it clearly doesn’t work with customs forms. Read more

  • So, Dr. Agordzo showed up at this GIMPA law forum with a mission: to tell everyone SWAT is basically that uninvited cousin at your wedding. According to him, the Constitution only recognizes the Ghana Police Service as the big boss of security. SWAT? They’re just a ghost squad—no legal papers, no Parliament sign-off. Like, who’s your plug, bro? He pulled receipts from Ayawaso West Wuogon in 2019—remember that drama? People got hurt, vibes were killed, and trust in the electoral system was lost. Read more

  • Lebanon’s skies weren’t exactly friendly this week, and four Ghanaian peacekeepers found themselves on the wrong end of a rocket’s GPS fail. A missile, allegedly fired by non-state actors, missed its mark on an IDF base and hit their camp instead, leaving three soldiers hospitalized and a bathroom in pieces. While UNIFIL is making sure the injured are treated, fingers are pointing everywhere—IDF blames Hezbollah, but Hezbollah is giving radio silence. And as if one rocket wasn’t enough, five more rained on another UNIFIL base, luckily causing only property damage. Read more

FACT OF THE DAY

❝

The iconic Twitter bird’s name is Larry. Yep, he’s named after basketball legend Larry Bird.

  • Ghana’s Second Lady, Samira Bawumia, is fully backing her husband, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, for president, calling him Ghana’s best hope. Read more

  • After Ghana’s shocking AFCON 2025 qualification failure (hello, bottom of the group!), the GFA has decided to publicly apologize to Ghanaians. Yup, they're taking full responsibility for the Black Stars' disappointing performance and are planning to dissolve the Black Stars management committee. Maybe they’re thinking a "clean slate" will do the trick—who knows? Read more

  • So, the PNC is currently in an election situation where they’ve been disqualified by the Electoral Commission (EC) for having some “oopsie” moments with their nomination forms. As a result, they’ll be sitting out of the presidential race this December, but don’t think they’re just going to grab a popcorn and watch the drama unfold. No way! They’re keeping their options open, figuring out which of the two powerhouses—NPP or NDC—is going to get their vote of confidence. Read more

DEEP DIVE

Tile Cleaning Gone Toxic

It all started with what should’ve been a regular day cleaning tiles on December 22, 2021. Francis Agyei called his brother Benjamin to help out, and house help Ernest tagged along with his buddy, Tawiah. But apparently, acid and arguments don’t mix well because, mid-cleaning, Ernest and Tawiah start beefing—words are flying hotter than Accra heat.

Instead of walking it off, Ernest decides to offload on Benjamin, who wasn’t even part of the fight. Benjamin tried to mind his business, hitting him with a "Bro, this ain’t my circus, these ain’t my monkeys," but Ernest said, “Nah fam, you’re getting dragged in!” Next thing you know, Ernest grabbed the acid they were using and Benjamin is doused in acid. Yes, acid!

Benjamin ended up at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital for three months, probably asking himself every day, “Why didn’t I just say no to scrubbing tiles?” It wasn’t until mid-2022 that the police got involved, arresting Agyei in October.

Now, Ernest is out on bail with a hefty price tag while the courtroom drama continues. He plead not guilty though. The lesson? Keep arguments and acid far, far away from each other—or better yet, don’t bring acid to the argument in the first place. Read more

PFJ Phase II, where?

Even though PFJ 2.0 promises big things, farmers are side-eyeing the rollout like it’s a suspicious group project. According to Nana Ayeh, nobody’s seen a grain of impact yet. He’s calling for more private partnerships to step in and save the day, like a sponsor bailing out a team at Interco. Agro-input companies like Calli Ghana are trying, though—they’re linking up with GRIB to supply better seeds, agrochemicals, and farming advice.

Now, let’s talk Christmas. With the holidays coming, GRIB hopes Ghanaians will pick local rice over the foreign flexes. But the thing is, imported rice still dominates the market. Why? Local rice farming is stuck in the stone age with issues like weak irrigation and no access to modern tech. It's like showing up to a football match with slippers instead of boots—you can’t win like that.

The message is clear: Ghana has what it takes to dominate the rice game, but PFJ Phase II has to do more than look cute in press releases. For now, farmers are waiting for the government to put the "plant" in Planting for Food and Jobs. Read more

NEWS SOURCES

Today’s stories are curated from: