It has emerged that the young man who claimed to be a soldier and had a confrontation with some Indian hemp or ‘wee’ smokers at Asakae, near Takoradi, which later resulted in his death, was not from any of the three military barracks in the Western Region and might not be a soldier.
The alleged soldier in the company of two other colleagues visited the ghetto of some Indian hemp smokers in the area about two weeks ago to purchase some of the Indian hemp also called ‘wee’.
After being served by the attendant at the ghetto, the three who were wearing civilian attires, identified themselves as soldiers and arrested some of the ghetto boys.
The assembly member for the Assakae electoral area, Alex Nana Acheampong, revealed this to DAILY GUIDE in an interview.
He noted that the checks he had made at all the three barracks – Takoradi Airforce Base, Sekondi Naval Base and the Second Battalion of Infantry at Apremdo – revealed that the deceased was not part of them.
He told DAILY GUIDE that after arresting some of the ghetto boys, the purported soldiers put them in a taxi cab and sped off.
“While they were going, the self-acclaimed soldiers realized that two of them had forgotten their phone and a cap at the ghetto so they drove back. At that time, the ghetto boys had reported what took place to their colleagues who quickly came around,” he mentioned.
The assembly man noted that the deceased got down from the vehicle and attempted to go and collect the phone and the cap. He was prevented by the boys who had vowed to rescue the other colleagues inside the taxi cab.
In the process, a brawl ensued and the ghetto boys allegedly inflicted machete wounds on the deceased.
“When I got to the scene, I was told the victim had been rushed to the hospital by his colleagues. I did not hear anything again until last Friday when information reached me that the one who sustained machete wounds was dead.
“So I decided to find out whether really he was a soldier because the residents were afraid of a reprisal attack,” he narrated.
“I first reported the case to the police at Kwesimintsim and later asked my son who is a soldier in Tamale to check from the barracks in the Western Region whether any of their men was injured or dead”, he added.
According to him, the checks by the police and the son indicated that the deceased was not from any of the barracks. “I will therefore encourage my electorate to go about their normal duties without any fear,” he said.
Police
The Western Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Olivia Ewurabena Adiku, told DAILY GUIDE that the deceased was yet to be identified.
She indicated that after the incident had happened, a report was made to the police. She pointed out that the police were contacting the various garrisons in the area to ascertain whether the deceased was indeed a soldier.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Asakae