Ejura: Court remands three suspected killers of Kaaka
The district court in Asokwa in the Ashanti Region has remanded into police custody three suspects arrested in connection with the murder of social activist Ibrahim Mohammed (Kaaka).
Isaka Ibrahim aka Anyas, Fuseini Alhassan and Idi Mohammed have been slapped with conspiracy to commit crime, to wit murder.
The court presided over by Akua Adu Boahene, has adjourned the case to July 22, 2021.
During the court proceedings on July 2, the prosecutor, Chief Superintendent Kofi Blagodzi, prayed the court to remand the suspects into police custody to allow a thorough investigation.
The magistrate, Her Worship Akua Adu Boahene, agreed and subsequently remanded them into police custody.
Kaaka, 45, and a father of five, died at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital on Monday, June 28, 2021, after he was attacked by assailants in front of his house while returning from town.
The death of Kaaka triggered widespread anger among the youth who took to the streets of Ejura, clad in red armbands and headgears, to protest.
The irate youth blocked roads while returning from the burial of Kaaka, in their quest to demand that the culprits are found and brought to book.
This resulted in the death of two, and four others injured, as security officials deployed to the scene shot into the crowd.
Regional Minister admits inviting military
Meanwhile, speaking on Peace FM’s Krokokoo on Friday, July 2, 2021, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, admitted that he ordered the presence of the military to the scene.
Mr Mensah who also is the Chairman of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) explained that he took the action, because, he had intelligence that the youth in the town were at the Ejura district police station.
“I called on the military, as the Chairman of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), to be a backup a day before the incident. I did that based on intelligence I gathered that the youth had planned to go and burn the police station in the town and the homes of the two suspects the police have arrested after the burial of Kaaka.”
“It is very unfortunate what happened, but this isn’t the first time the military has been called upon to assist the police. It is a strategy I have used since 2017.”
READ ALSO: Tripartite Committee To Probe Ejura Killings Announced
Following rising concern over the incidents at Ejura, Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery, upon the instructions of President Dankwa Akufo-Addo set a committee to investigate the matter.
The three-member committee, are to present their report in 10-days.
The members of the committee are Professor Vladimir Antwi-Danso, international relations and security expert; George Kingsley Koomson, a judge in the Court of Appeal, and Juliet Amoah, a media-tech innovator.
Minority reaction
Reacting to the constitution of the committee, the Minority in Parliament said such a matter required a commission of inquiry rather than a ministerial probe.
“We will not accept any ministerial inquiry. We want an inquiry that has the true meaning of article 278 of the 1992 constitution,” Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu said at a press conference on Wednesday, June 30.
According to him, an independent institution must conduct the investigations and not the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the work of the Ghana Police Service.
“The state security cannot absorb themselves. The President must appoint a judge because, definitely, we will reject any recommendations from any ministerial inquiry,” he stated emphatically.
Background
Ibrahim Mohammed, also known as Macho Kaaka, was attacked by a mob, and he later died due to injuries.
Witness accounts showed that the deceased was ambushed in front of his house when he was returning home on his motorbike at about 1:30 am on Sunday, June 27, 2021.
Macho Kaaka was rushed to the Ejura Government Hospital to receive medical treatment after the attack.
He was later transferred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, where he died at midday on Monday, June 28, 2021, the Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), Godwin Ahianyo, told the media at a press briefing.
Providing an account of the incident, the widow of the deceased, Sahada Hudu, said she found him in a pool of blood after the attack.
“I thought my husband was driving away goats from the house at the time. Little did I know that he was being attacked. We saw him in a pool of blood. The people bolted as soon as we opened the door to check what was happening,” she recounted.
Before his death, Ibrahim Muhammed, aged 45, took to social media, where he posts critiques in the Ejura Municipality and other issues of national importance.
His last activity on Facebook was to share a post criticizing the arrest of 15 members of the #TheFixCountry at the High Court Complex on June 25.