Ibrahim Mohammed aka Kaaka
The three-member committee which probed the mayhem that rocked Ejura in the Ejura/Sekyedumase District of the Ashanti Region on June 29, leading to the killing of two people and injuries to four others, following the death of Ibrahim Mohammed aka Kaaka, has exposed one of the witnesses that testified during the sittings.
An aspect of the 55-page report said the witness, Abeewakas Umar, was “economical with the truth during his testimony before the Committee,” adding that “This, we note, affected his credibility.”
The report said Abeewakas Umar actively participated in the Ejura violence on June 29 following the death of Kaaka, but turned around to play victim.
According to the committee, “he cleverly and disingenuously presented facts to the Committee as if he did not take part in the protestations.”
False Testimony
“Abeewakas Umar testified as a resident of Ejura. He stated that he was a cousin of ‘Kaaka’. He admitted that he was at Ejura on the 29th June, 2021 and went to the cemetery with the other family members to bury ‘Kaaka’,” the report said, adding “At the cemetery, he said he saw some of the youth running away from the cemetery but because he was at the graveside, about 200 meters away from where the youth were, he could not tell why the youth were running away.”
“He stated that, after the burial, he saw the youth protesting in town. He said there was a large crowd around 12:30 pm and at this point, he entered the mosque to pray and after praying, because he had a headache, he lay down to rest. He stated that because he did not want to be disturbed, he even turned off his phone.”
According to the committee, “he stated further that it was around 4:30 p.m., when he woke up and offered his prayers in that same mosque, that he saw some people who were aggrieved. He said it was at this point that the Imam informed him that, because of the protests some soldiers had come and had shot two people dead. He further stated that, he was told this incident happened about 30 minutes after they had returned from the burial.”
“He testified that after the Maghreb prayers, he went to the hospital to see those who were injured. He was informed that one has been transferred to the Duayaw-Nkwanta Hospital. He then went home and does not know of any other things that happened.”
Denials Before Committee
The report said that “when questioned about his role in the protests, he denied being one of the protestors but stated that, he knew the reason for the protest to be the demand for justice for the death of ‘Kaaka’,” adding “He explained that he only went to the hospital because some of the injured were his neighbours. He also stated that as a member of the family of ‘Kaaka’, he had no information that the family had requested for police protection at the cemetery as the police claimed. He said he was an electrician, and owner and manager of an orphanage which has about 250 orphans.”
The report also said that the witness had explained that although party politics had destroyed Ejura, the town was peaceful before the death of Kaaka.
Confronting Witness
The report said “at this point, a video of the rioting was shown to Abeewakas, in which he could be clearly seen in the midst of the crowd granting an interview to the Multimedia journalist in an angered mood. He admitted that, it was him in the video but that this was just shortly before he went to the mosque and later to take a rest and so he had not taken part in the riot.”
“The Committee played some more of the video to him to prove to him that in spite of his denial, he was present when the military arrived. He admitted that fact and said he withdrew to the mosque as stated as soon as he saw the military arrive.”
Political Introduction
The report said Abeewakas then introduced into his testimony “the fact that ‘Kaaka’ during his lifetime had mentioned that some persons were threatening him because of some videos he was making,” adding “he also said he gave this information to the journalists who were interviewing him and he then presented the videos to the committee.
“His videos were, therefore, played and in brief, he explained the contents to the committee. He said it was an interview he granted on Guidance TV in which he narrated the threats that ‘Kaaka’ had received from some persons on several occasions. He also presented to the committee an audio recording of ‘Kaaka’ allegedly speaking about the said threats on his life.”
Supposed Kaaka Video
The report said, “Again, he stated that ‘Kaaka’ during his lifetime mentioned in a video that, it was the MCE of Ejura who had directed his thugs to warn him, regarding his posts on Facebook. The warning, he said, was to the effect that, if he (‘Kaaka’) did not stop what he was doing, then whatever happens to him would have been of his own doing,” adding, “he presented to the Committee five (5) videos and one audio recording which were marked as ‘K-series’.”
“Abeewakas Umar, testified and tendered five videos and an audio to support his testimony that, the late ‘Kaaka’ informed him that the MCE of Ejura had directed his thugs to warn ‘Kaaka’ regarding his activities on social media.
“According to Abeewakas Umar, these warnings were to the effect that, if ‘Kaaka’ did not stop what he was doing, then he must blame himself for whatever might happen to him. The Committee examined all the five videos and the single audio presented to it by him,” the report said.
The report noted that “before dealing with these exhibits given to the Committee by Abeewakas, the Committee observed that the said Abeewakas was economical with the truth during his testimony before the Committee. This, we note, affected his credibility.”
“Despite the fact that Abeewakas, during the demonstration on the 29th June 2021, played a leading role in the said agitations and even granted lengthy interviews to both Edward Oppong Marfo of Citi News and Erastus Asare Donkor of the Multimedia group, he cleverly and disingenuously presented facts to the Committee as if he did not take part in the protestations. However, when confronted with the videos tendered by Erastus in which he was seen defiantly demanding justice and urging the youth on, he started weeping.”
Disappointing Conduct
The report said, “As a matter of fact, his conduct before the Committee was disappointing to the members. In the light of the conduct exhibited by the said Abeewakas, the Committee had to examine his evidence with all the caution required in making any inferences.
“An examination of the five videos tendered by him have no bearing on the alleged threats on the life of ‘Kaaka’ as stated by Abeewakas. In one of the videos ‘Kaaka’ was seen directing traffic. In two of the videos, ‘Kaaka’ was showing and complaining about the poor sanitation in Ejura, especially around the public toilet. The fourth video contains some traditional elders pouring libation in respect of the forcible re-opening of the Ejura market which had been closed during the Covid lockdown. The fifth video was of ‘Kaaka’ complaining about the lack of development in Ejura.”
The report said “the Committee notes that the authenticity of the videos and audio presented to it by Abeewakas is highly in doubt. These videos only surfaced after the death of ‘Kaaka’.”
By Ernest Kofi Adu