Video: Elephant holds Ghana’s Tourism Minister hostage at Mole Park, police flee

Management of the Mole National Park in the Northern Region has said it cannot be blamed for an elephant attack on the Minister of Tourism and her entourage.

According to the managment, it knew nothing about the Minister’s visit and as a result the necessary security arrangment could not be put in place for the team to tour the popular Widlife Park.

A disturbed elephant at the Mole National Park in the West Gonja District of the Northern Region on Saturday detained an entourage, led by the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Catherine Afeku.

The huge animal was attracted to the road leading to the receptive facility at the park by a siren from the police motorcade which was leading the entourage, leaving the team stranded with fear for well over 30 minutes.

According to reports, the incident occurred just seven minutes drive into the park and for half an hour, the team could not move as the elephant kept hovering around the vehicles; which left the group which included journalists gripped with fear.

The situation was saved by an intervention of a tour guide who was apparently on his rounds in the park as he employed skills to bring the agitated elephant under control after 15 minutes, paving the way for the convoy to speed off to its destination.

Speaking to TV3 News Wednesday night, the Manager of the Mole National Park, Umaru Farouk said management only got to know the minister and her entourage were in the park when they’d been taken ‘hostage’ by the elephant.

“Ministers of state and high profile individuals visiting the park require certain level of security and so we expect these organizers will not just inform the Park Authorities about such visit but endeavour to meet and sit with the Park authorities and fashion out modalities that will not largely breach the protocol of the Minister and her entourage but at the same time also ensure that there’s security arrangement in the park so that the peace in animals natural habitat is not largely breached.

He added: “We always require that for such trips, arrangement is made so that the team is met at the gate and given as escot to where their final destination is within the park, that could have avoided this embarrassing situation.”