Osei Assibey Antwi addressing the OKESS students yesterday
A FINAL-YEAR student, Godfred Arthur of Osei Kyeretwie Senior High School (OKESS) in the Tafo-Pankrono municipality of the Ashanti Region, has been stabbed to death in the presence of his colleagues at the campus.
The victim, 18 years old from Obuasi, was taken to the hospital following the attack but was later pronounced dead.
The incident, which occurred at about 11:00 pm Wednesday, has forced the school and education authorities to close down the school for two weeks.
The attack was said to have been carried out by an old student of the school and his gangsters who were allegedly in the school to rob the students.
Eyewitnesses said the assailant escaped with fleeing students and had since not been arrested by the law enforcement agents who are investigating the incident.
DAILY GUIDE gathered that as the attack began on a staircase, students were reportedly forced to take cover until the police from the Tafo-Pankrono Division arrived.
Godfred Arthur was scheduled to write his final West African Secondary School Examination (WASSCE) yesterday.
The students had earlier expressed apprehension over a possible robbery attack by the gang, but their fears were allayed.
A taxi driver at the scene told this paper that the students were seen screaming and running from their dormitories and classrooms following the attack.
Board chairman of the school, Owusu Ansah, said the school would collaborate with the law enforcers to investigate the incident in order to bring the perpetrator to book.
He called the parents and guardians who swarmed the premises of the school to exercise patience.
A surrogate mother of the victim, Mama Esther, said the incident was a devastating and appalling tragedy, which should not have occurred.
Security
Meanwhile, the Ashanti Regional Police Command has beefed up security on the campus.
The Kumasi Mayor, Osei Assibey Antwi, who made the disclosure, said the new security move was to prevent robbers from invading the school again.
The gangsters had reportedly robbed some students of their valuables and were running away when they met Arthur, whom they stabbed in the neck.
One Suspect Grabbed
Meanwhile, the Ashanti Regional Police PRO, DSP Juliana Obeng, has disclosed that one suspect had been picked up by the police to assist in investigation.
She, however, declined to give details about the arrested suspect, saying that such action would jeopardize the investigation.
From Ernest Kofi Adu & I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi