The founder and leader of Heaven's Gate Ministries, Prophet Nicholas Osei, widely known as Prophet Kumchacha, has invoked severe curses on government officials and traditional leaders involved in illegal mining activities, known as galamsey, in Ghana.

In a video making waves on social media, Prophet Kumchacha could be seen clutching a bottle of oil and declaring that ministers, MPs, and chiefs participating in galamsey would suffer dire consequences, including heart attacks, strokes, impotency and cancer.

"As I open this bottle of oil, those of you involved in galamsey, I declare curses on you," he proclaimed.

“If you are an MP and you're involved in galamsey, you will be afflicted with heart attacks and stroke, if you are a minister, you will get stroke and cancer. If you are a chief, you will be involved in an accident when you buy a new car, you will go down with cancer and strokes,” he said in the video.

Additionally, he cursed farmers and others who sell land to foreigners for galamsey, foretelling afflictions such as impotence and cancer on them.

What is ‘galamsey’?

Illegal mining, known locally as "galamsey," is causing significant deforestation in Ghana, with seven of the country's 16 regions and 34 forest reserves affected, totalling an area of 4,726 hectares.

Despite revised laws and protective measures, challenges such as weak law enforcement, corruption, and unemployment contribute to ongoing deforestation.

Other factors like agricultural expansion, illegal logging, forest fires, overgrazing, and infrastructure development also play a role in the loss of Ghana's biodiverse tropical forests.