Also known as: Mr Asare Donkor · award-winning journalist Erastus Asare Donkor
Environmental journalist reporting on illegal mining in Ghana, warning of reversed progress against galamsey in forest reserves.
Verbatim sentences from the source article.
Joy Online
… in fact, this has happened, and we know of many other kingpins in this particular activity, then I think it is important for government and the agencies responsible for prosecuting such people to make sure all those who have been identified in the many reports of Mr Asare Donkor …
Wontumi’s conviction legitimate, more galamsey prosecutions must follow – Prof Agyemang-DuahJoy Online
Investigative journalist Erastus Asare Donkor says Ghana still has a long way to go in holding accountable individuals and companies responsible for severe environmental destruction, despite the conviction of New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasi …
Long way to go in prosecuting those behind environmental destruction – Erastus Asare DonkorJoy Online
… She also commended Luv FM’s Erastus Asare Donkor for his relentless efforts in exposing illegal mining activities across the country. …
Wontumi’s conviction a step in the right direction – Awula SerwahJoy Online
Convener of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining, Dr Ken Ashigbey, has praised JoyNews’ Erastus Asare Donkor for his persistent reporting on illegal mining, calling on the government to expand investigations into all individuals and networks implicated in the destructive pr …
Wontumi conviction: Ken Ashigbey commends Erastus Asare Donkor, urges wider probe into illegal mining networksJoy Online
… Ghana’s anti-galamsey movement has been driven by activists and civil society groups, including Awula Serwah, The Multimedia Group’s Erastus Asare Donkor, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, Eco-Conscious Citizens, Democracy Hub, the Fix The Country Movement and the Ghana Youth Environmental …
Galamsey is no longer hidden: Where is the enforcement?Business & Financial Times
… Erastus Asare Donkor showed that image at the Environmental Sustainability Summit 2026 and it did what no statistic quite can. …
EDITORIAL: The dangerous ground beneath usBusiness & Financial Times
… Erastus Asare Donkor, Investigative Journalist with the Multimedia Group and leading voice in reporting on illegal mining, during a presentation at the summit noted that the number of affected forest reserves had increased to 50 by November 2025. …
Green finance ambitions risk failure – ESSThe Chronicle
… Jones Opoku-Ware, Criminologist, KNUST and Erastus Asare Donkor, Environmental Journalist. …
GJA-Ashanti organises training on Environmental Reporting and Personal SafetyJoy Online
… The training will feature presentations from environmental and safety experts, including Ashanti Regional Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr Jackson Adiyah Nyantakyi; renowned environmental journalist, Erastus Asare Donkor; criminologist at the Kwame Nkruma …
World Environment Day: Ashanti GJA, RSF Germany equip journalists for safer environmental reportingThe Chronicle
… According to a statement posted on Facebook by journalist Erastus Asare Donkor, the NAIMOS task force swooped on a galamsey site at Oseikokrom in the Amansie West District on Thursday, 21 May 2026, in what the Secretariat described as an intelligence-led operation. …
Galamsey: NAIMOS Nabs Chinese, 7 Ghanaians in Ashanti RegionThe Ghana Journalists Association's Ashanti Regional chapter has launched the 2025 Ashanti GJA Excellence Awards, open to all media practitioners in the region for works published or broadcast during 2025. The awards include two divisions covering eight news categories plus special honours for veteran journalists and the regional journalist of the year.
10 September 2026 · The Chronicle →
The Ghana Journalists Association's Ashanti Regional chapter has launched the 2025 Ashanti GJA Excellence Awards, open to all media practitioners in the region for works published or broadcast during 2025. The awards include two divisions covering eight news categories plus special honours for veteran journalists and the regional journalist of the year.
10 September 2026 · The Chronicle →
Journalist Erastus Asare Donkor warns that progress made in clearing illegal miners from forest reserves in 2025 is being reversed, with previously inaccessible areas now being reclaimed by galamsey operators. He noted that areas classified as "red zones" by the Forestry Commission due to armed miners have regressed from zero red zones at the start of 2026.
13 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Dr Ken Ashigbey, convener of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining, says Ghana has not honoured the memory of eight people who died in last year's helicopter crash while travelling to support anti-galamsey efforts, pointing to continued illegal mining activity in areas where state institutions are expected to enforce the law.
13 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Dr Ken Ashigbey, Convener of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining, has criticised the country's failure to stop galamsey a year after eight people, including senior military and government officials, died in a helicopter crash travelling to an anti-illegal mining programme, saying the continued destruction of water bodies and illegal mining activities raise questions about Ghana's commitment to the fight.
13 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Journalist Erastus Asare Donkor warned that Ghana is reversing progress made against illegal mining, with illegal miners returning to forest reserves that had been cleared of destructive activities. He noted that forest reserves previously classified as "red zones" by the Forestry Commission—where armed illegal miners had staged roadblocks and barred access—are now being retaken by galamsey operators.
13 August 2026 · Joy Online →
On August 6, 2025, a helicopter carrying eight Ghanaians—including the Defence and Environment ministers—crashed while travelling to an event in Obuasi aimed at confronting illegal mining. One year later, the article reflects on the tragedy and what lessons the country has learnt in its efforts to combat galamsey, which continues to ravage natural resources.
7 August 2026 · The Chronicle →
Environmental journalist Erastus Asare Donkor has alleged that illegal miners are exploiting Ghana's government cooperative mining scheme as cover for destructive mining in communities across the Eastern, Western and Ashanti regions, including Berekum, Dawma and along the Bekwai–Esiwa road.
6 August 2026 · Joy Online →
On August 6, 2025, a helicopter carrying eight people including Ghana's Defence Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Murtala Mohammed crashed while en route to an event in Obuasi aimed at confronting illegal mining, prompting national reflection on lessons from the tragedy.
6 August 2026 · Joy Online →
The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) arrested 19 suspected illegal miners at Mpohor Fiase in the Western Region following reports of galamsey activities. During the operation on July 29, officers destroyed mining equipment including 16 chanfang machines, nine water pumps, and three temporary structures, and recovered a pump-action shotgun with ammunition and GH¢120,000 in cash.
30 July 2026 · The Ghanaian Times →
The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat arrested 19 suspected illegal miners during an operation on July 29 in the Western Region, following reports of galamsey activities near Mpohor Fiase Police Station. The task force destroyed 16 chanfang machines, nine water pumps, three makeshift structures, and rendered an excavator inoperable; a pump-action shotgun and ammunition were also seized.
30 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Governance expert Prof Baffour Agyemang-Duah says the Accra High Court's conviction of NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako to 20 years' imprisonment for illegal mining on the Samreboi concession follows proper judicial process. He argues the case demonstrates accountability is possible through appropriate legal procedures, and urges further prosecutions of other individuals linked to illegal mining, which he notes has been a persistent national concern with few high-profile convictions.
20 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Investigative journalist Erastus Asare Donkor says Ghana must do more to hold individuals and companies accountable for environmental destruction, framing recent convictions as a step rather than the end of the fight against illegal mining and its damage to natural resources.
20 July 2026 · Joy Online →
NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako has been convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegal mining. Environmental activist Awula Serwah welcomed the conviction as a milestone in Ghana's fight against illegal mining and called on authorities to expand investigations and prosecute other influential figures involved in environmental destruction.
20 July 2026 · Joy Online →
The Convener of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining has commended investigative journalist Erastus Asare Donkor's reporting on illegal mining and called on the government to expand investigations into all individuals and networks implicated in galamsey, rather than treating the conviction of NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi) as an isolated case.
20 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Illegal miners in Ghana are openly promoting their activities on social media platforms like TikTok and Facebook, suggesting a belief that law enforcement is absent or unwilling to act. The article links this public flouting of the law to environmental destruction and recent flooding in the Western Region.
23 June 2026 · Joy Online →
An editorial highlights the contradiction between Ghana's green finance initiatives—including Green Bond Guidelines and carbon trading agreements—and the environmental damage from illegal mining, which has destroyed almost 9,000 hectares of forest reserves, polluted over 60 percent of water bodies, and created dangerous tunnels beneath homes.
18 June 2026 · Business & Financial Times →
Speakers at Ghana's Environmental Sustainability Summit 2026 warned that illegal mining and environmental degradation could undermine the country's green finance agenda and carbon market frameworks. Experts argued that businesses must prioritize environmental sustainability as core business strategy rather than charity, citing Ghana's estimated two percent annual deforestation rate.
17 June 2026 · Business & Financial Times →
The Ashanti Regional Branch of the Ghana Journalists Association organised a capacity-building programme to strengthen journalists' competencies in environmental reporting and personal safety, with support from Reporters Without Borders (RSF Germany). The training, aligned with World Environment Day, aimed to equip journalists with skills to raise awareness about global warming, deforestation, and pollution while promoting sustainable development.
8 June 2026 · The Chronicle →
The Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana Journalists Association is partnering with Reporters Without Borders Germany to equip journalists with skills for safer environmental reporting, particularly on mining and illegal small-scale mining issues, as part of World Environment Day 2026 observance.
3 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Ghana's National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat conducted an intelligence-led operation at a galamsey site in Oseikokrom, Amansie West District, on 21 May 2026, resulting in the arrest of eight illegal miners: one Chinese national and seven Ghanaians. The Chinese national was referred to the Ghana Immigration Service while the seven Ghanaians were handed to police for investigation and prosecution.
22 May 2026 · The Chronicle →