The soldier who was allegedly killed by a mob at Ashaiman Taifa last Saturday has been identified as 21-year-old Sherif Imoro.
He was a member of the Ghana Armed Forces Band, a trumpeter, and was stationed at Sunyani in the Bono Region.
He was in Accra for a military course and in the last three weeks, had been visiting the parents in their home at Ashaiman every Friday.
Last Friday would have been the third time he was going home and was reportedly confronted by a gang who killed him.
Sherif Imoro was born in Ashaiman on June 3, 2001, according to his father, Awudu Imoro.
He was recrujted into the Ghana Armed Forces in October 2021 and trained at Daboya, and was posted to Sunyani after passing out.
According to his father, he had his primary and junior high school education at Ashaiman and senior high school at Akwamuman SHS and completed it in 2017.
The Incident
Last Friday, he was on his way home and there was heavy traffic in the area, so he alighted at Ashaiman Taifa near the court building.
It was around that area that he met his death at the hands of his attackers.
Some reports suggest the gang mistook him to be a robber
Father’s Narrative
Explaining the circumstances and giving a brief background about his son, the father, Awudu Imoro said in early January this year, Sherif phoned his mother and informed the family that he was going to be in Accra in the first week of February for a course.
Sherif according to the father told them that when he arrived in Accra, he will get the opportunity to visit them in the house on a Friday, and so in the last three weeks, he had been coming home every Friday.
More than 180 people have been arrested and taken into custody by the soldiers who stormed Ashaiman Tuesday dawn after a mob allegedly killed Sherif Imoro.
According to the Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, Ernest Henry Norgbey, he has been informed that the soldiers took the people they arrested away.
“72 persons per the briefing given me by the Assembly member for the area” have been taken into custody by the soldiers.
“But as I speak to you the police commander just told me that 72 persons are an understatement and that they are more than that, they [soldiers] are still arresting people when you go certain areas of the community,” Mr. Norgbey said in a radio interview on Citi fm.
The MP said the soldiers after the dawn operation left the area, the soldiers had left but around midday, he received a phone call that another batch of military men had trooped into the Ashaiman constituency.
“I spoke to the police commander and he told me on authority that the military guys were still in the constituency, all over the constituency molesting innocent residents,” he said.
He said the constituents were worried about the modus operandi of the military, “because you see armored cars, you see military vehicles, you see helicopters, which means that this thing has been sanctioned by the higher authority and so everybody is handicapped in this matter.
“So we are just calling on them to call back their men to the barracks because these people that they are molesting, they are innocent people, I’m not sure they know anything about the killing of the military guy,” the MP said.
The Ashaiman neighborhood of Taifa was on Tuesday dawn forced into a self-imposed curfew after some soldiers reportedly stormed the area, following the alleged killing of the soldier over the weekend.
Photos and videos of the said soldier were shared on social media after the incident.
Some reports said he was attacked and stabbed by a gang. The soldier was reportedly on his way to his family home.
Soldiers Reaction
On Tuesday dawn (March 7, 2023), some alleged soldiers numbering not less than 20 stormed the area.
They questioned anyone they came across and reportedly beat them up.
This forced people to lock themselves up in their homes, fearing they will be beaten up by the soldiers.
Some eyewitnesses have recounted their experiences on social media.
Some said they saw the soldiers around 2am.
One person said he woke up around 4am to see that the area which was usually busy around that time with many shops open was still very quiet.
He assumed that it was a result of the downpour but when he stepped out, he saw some soldiers on the stretch, and no vehicles were moving.
He saw soldiers approaching so he quickly rushed back into the house and locked the gate.
He said his brother later told him he woke up earlier and saw soldiers beating up some other people.
“My mother owns a shop by the roadside and should have been opened by now but as we speak, all shops are still closed,” he said.
He said he saw that vehicles passing by were stopped, male passengers dragged out and beaten up, “you people kill our colleague”, some of the soldiers reportedly said.
Another eyewitness said the said soldiers knocked on doors and anybody who came out allegedly received some slaps.
The Assemblyman for the area reportedly sent out a message advising residents to avoid certain routes.
He said he counted not less than 20 armed soldiers on foot, who were patrolling the streets.
What happened with the mob killing of an alleged soldier?
The incident of the mob killing of the soldier received varied reactions at the weekend.
Some had alleged that the young soldier was on his way to his home when he was attacked by a gang.
Some had alleged that he was stabbed to death by the mob after visiting his girlfriend.
Photos from the incident scene showed the lifeless body of the victim, who was in what seemed to be torn trousers in military camouflage colors.
His military cap and a white cloth had been used to cover his face. Also, his bag in military camouflage colors was lying close to his body.
The Ghana Police are yet to comment on it.