On Thursday, some angry soldiers suggested that, the Military takes over the investigations since according to them, they will do a better job.

[contextly_sidebar id=”KFhPvYKb4vQrrWqRspkaecO6jElXHXs5″]But speaking at a press conference on Friday, the IGP David Asante Apeatu, called for calm, promising that the Police Service will get to the bottom of the matter.

“Persons who violate the laws of the land in the manner akin to what has happened in the late Captain’s case, will be dealt with accordingly. The Police is prepared to collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure this canker of instant justice is permanently stamped out of our society.”

“We shall therefore stop at nothing to deal with perpetrators of this phenomenon. The Police administration wishes to pledge our full support to him to achieve this goal. For the purpose of protecting sanctity of evidence, we have decided not to parade the 16 suspects currently in our custody. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a war, not only for the security agencies but for all of us including members of the public.”

Meanwhile the Ghana Armed Forces, has also expressed satisfaction with the investigation carried out and the arrests made so far.

Speaking at the programme, the Chief of Defence, Major General Obed Akwa, commended the IGP and Police Service for their efforts at ensuring that justice is served.

“Yesterday [Thursday], I held a durbar and the issues raised had to do with the speedy investigation and prosecution of those who carried out this dastardly act, and I gave assurance that a high powered team had been sent to the incident area, and I am happy to hear from the Director General and the CID and also from the IGP that indeed they are making progress. We look forward to a speedy investigation so that those who are found culpable face the full rigors of the law because justice delayed is justice denied.”

Capt. Mahama was lynched after he was mistaken for a thief.

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By: Zoe Abu Baidoo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Trust us to bring Capt. Mahama’s murderers to book – IGP appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to Amoah Eshia, the new DCE, Daniel Apiannin, ought to have known about the presence of military personnel in his jurisdiction and taken steps to protect them.

Speaking to Citi News, Mr. Amoah Eshia said his successor acted unprofessionally.

Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama of the 5th Infantry Battalion was lynched and burnt at Denkyera-Obuasi on Monday after he was mistaken for an armed robber.

The late military officer was among others deployed to combat illegal mining activities ongoing at Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region.

[contextly_sidebar id=”fQ5GJnPA3BHAX3PfJuvImKDAdPCRZUzE”]The former DCE explained that in practice, anytime the soldiers were in town, they usually introduced themselves to the political head [DCE] of the area.

“On the other hand, if for any reason they are unable to do that, the DCE as the political head must look for them in order that they can have a good working relationship. And so in this case, if they did not introduce themselves to the DCE and the DCE did not also look for them, then I will put the blame at the doorstep of the DCE,” he stated.

Mr. Amoah Eshia further accused his successor saying, “I think that there was a certain amount of dereliction of duty on the part of the DCE.”

“It means that he failed woefully to have checked on the soldiers and check on their schedule in order to acquaint and familiarize himself with them,” the former DCE said, adding that Capt. Mahama’s death could have been prevented should his successor had done the needful.

“This death of the late captain was unnecessary and unwarranted. Assuming that he had an indigene accompanying him on his way throughout the jogging, that indigene would have held brief for him when people suspected that he was an armed robber.”

The current DCE, Daniel Apiannin, while speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, complained that Capt. Mahama and his team were in the town to protect illegal miners instead of fighting them.

But the former DCE said that claim is absolutely false.

“Companies and other entities that are for government and others that are not for government undertaking activities in the district have been known to solicit support of state security agencies. I am not talking about illegal mining; I am talking about legal mining. That has been the practice; I know that the Ghana Armed Forces are known to have safeguarded the interest of these companies. There’s nothing untoward with this arrangement.”

“Captain Adam Mahama was not protecting illegal miners in the Upper Denkyira West district, as far as I know. It is not true that the army sent men there to protect small scale miners. For the records, in Denkyira-Obuasi where the incident took place, there is no small scale mining around. Small scale mining in Upper Denkyira takes place in other areas but not Denkyira-Obuasi,” he stressed.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post DCE’s negligence caused Capt. Mahama’s death – Former DCE appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama of the 5th Infantry Battalion was lynched at Denkyira-Obuasi after the residents claim they mistook him for an armed robber.

The late military officer was among others deployed to combat illegal mining activities in the Denkyira-Obuasi forest reserve.

[contextly_sidebar id=”USPelER0C6NHHuBYB7R4ELNDiSBzTd46″]“The best legacy we can leave this man, his wife, children, his old mother is to ask the tough questions…and to arrest those who matter,” Dr. Anning said on the Citi Breakfast Show on Monday.

Dr. Anning, who is also the Head of Research at the Kofi Annan Peace Keeping Training Centre, further lambasted the District Security Council (DISEC), in the Upper Denkyira West District for not providing advanced intelligence to security operatives during their operations in the area.

“How do our security councils use the information that they have in a manner that can serve as a preventive tool because Act 526 that establishes this council said the council should provide early warning. Listening to the former DCE, he said these people were violent. But is there any report about the behavior and the way the people in the area respond or react to issues,” he questioned.

5 suspects rounded up over Capt. Mahama’s murder

Meanwhile, about 5 persons suspected to have been part of those who lynched Capt. Mahama have been rounded up.

The Director of Public Relations of the Ghana Armed Forces, Colonel Aggrey-Quarshie, told Citi News that all the 5 suspects have been handed over to the Police for screening and further investigation.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Capt. Mahama’s killers must not be spared – Kwesi Anning appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The 50 were rounded up as part of a joint police and military operation in the area to apprehend the angry youth who attacked and burnt the soldier who had been deployed to the area on an anti-galamsey mission.

[contextly_sidebar id=”qUJufSBU1kWiJA2OBKmNbmyHcO3WLCRm”]The deceased, Captain Maxwell Mahama, an officer of the 5^th Infantry Battalion was beaten and burnt by some youth of Denenkyira-Obuasi in the Upper Denkyira West District of the Central Region on Monday, May 29, 2017 on suspicion that he was an armed robber.

The Director of Public Relations of the Ghana Armed Forces, Colonel Aggrey-Quarshie told Citi News that all the 50 suspects have been handed over to the Police for screening and further investigation.

Citi News gathers that there is heightened anxiety in Denenkyira-Obuasi following the gruesome murder as some youth are alleged to have fled the town for fear of being attacked by military men in retaliation of Capt. Adams’ murder.

The Central Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan has said some of those arrested have been sent to the Cape Coast regional police command for further investigation and reference to the Attorney General’s department for advice and subsequent prosecution.

He said he was impressed that the police have been able to make some arrest within 24-hours of the unfortunate event.

“This is a good progress that within 24-hours they have been able to get to this point. This is a matter that has assumed national dimension and of interest. The police knowing how they respond to such matters I know will quickly deal with it and continue with the prosecution,” he told Citi News.

Meanwhile, the body of the late Captain Maxwell Mahama has been deposited at the 37 military hospital.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post 50 suspects arrested over Capt. Mahama’s murder appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He was not attacked by armed robbers. He was lynched! He met his untimely death in the hands of a group of people at Dankyira Boase who appropriated to themselves the powers of the law enforcement agencies and the judiciary.

They tried him in the very court of their charged minds, passed their own judgment on him, and that settled it for them.

It is called mob justice! The extrajudicial action, commonly called lynching, has been one of man’s lowest level of reasoning across societies the world over. When carried out, you can picture a human group that stands at par with that carnivore in the forest that we hear of and dread.

In the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries in the United States, lynching was a lucrative venture for marauding White supremacists who executed instant justice on helpless Blacks. What qualified a Black to be lynched was a simple suspicion that a Black is a criminal.

Even Black right activists, both Whites and Blacks, were not spared. What is clear is lynching has been a tool used by its practitioners to deal decisively with those they perceive evil and unwanted.

Here in Ghana, our history and our contemporary times have not been spared of the gruesome act. Some have been lynched in this country at places where residents deemed them strangers walking around, suspecting them of the usual chorus: ‘acting strangely’, and a code signalled. What strange acts are is something yet to be defined.

Others have been lynched in this country because they were thought of as witches. Also in this case, the parameters in determining who a witch is has not been properly laid out yet.

Very commonly in our Ghanaian societies, when locals grab a suspected robber, the probability that the robber will be lynched is high. If luck embraces him or her on a day, the robber may only have severe beating without dying before the police take over.

In my life, I have come across a young man who had both palms nailed on a coconut tree in an ancient Roman crucifixion style for allegedly stealing someone’s coconut. He struggled with the pain for a while and died.

The question has been what makes people engage in mob justice. Mind you, the perpetrators are both males and females.

Several reports and expert analysis have attributed the heartless acts to people’s lack of trust in our security agencies and our justice systems. People will say they do not understand why a robber or a suspected criminal arrested in the act should be allowed to walk freely on the streets.

They feel that our justice system has not been dealing with criminals in the way they think they must be dealt with. Despite the fact that our police and courts have their own flaws, what these people fail to realise is a person is not guilty until proven so by a court of competent jurisdiction.

We must also admit that, as a society, we have failed badly to educate the people. It is worrying to think of what practically an institution like the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) is doing in the form of public education to let citizens understand some basic laws as well as rights and responsibilities.

We live in a country of religion: divided into a majority Christian, followed by Muslims, traditionalists and others. The basic thing in religion is to make its adherents live lives worthy of attracting the favour of the being worshipped. And that will mean living morally upright lives.

However, after trooping into churches, mosques, shrines and others, we still remain detached from basic moral standards. A moral person does not only occupy himself with basic good and bad deeds, but also loves his neighbour as himself. By extension, I cannot look at my fellow human being and hit his skull with a piece of brick or stone. That makes me descend to the level of animals in a jungle.  This makes us ask: “What are people preached to?”

What practical training and knowledge is our educational curriculum equipping its consumers with? Our textbooks are pregnant with civic theories that are only meant to be memorised and later poured on sheets of paper for marks to get graded.

Our educational system has failed to churn out products that have respect for our laws and civic responsibilities. Thus, it is not strange to find a person with degrees and in suit openly or secretly defending or offering support in the perpetuation of mob justice.

It is time our police showed the citizenry their unflinching resolve to deal with these self-styled executioners walking on the streets of Ghana in line with the laws of the land. Again, the prosecutors of crime and the courts should expedite criminal cases before them since dragging them courts unnecessary public upheavals.

Until citizens respect the laws, respect the dignity of their fellow human beings irrespective of wherever they come from, their profession, their differences; until our security forces stand up to this menace and until our justice system gains appreciable trust from the people, the lynching of the late Captain Maxwell Mahama may not be the last in Ghana

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By: Joseph Ackon-Mensah (Email: [email protected])

The post Mob justice: Will Captain Mahama be the last? [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Regional Minister made the remark in a Citi News interview following the lynching of Captain Mahama, at Diaso in the Upper Denkyira West District on Monday.

[contextly_sidebar id=”6GcMCeowLv9C9dJXxUoqQDJ7FMKmsodI”]The residents reportedly lynched and burnt Captain Mahama because they thought he was an armed robber.

According to the District Chief Executive for the area, Daniel Appianing, some military personnel have held about 80 residents hostage, demanding for the gun of the deceased.

“I wish to use this opportunity to appeal to the military that this is purely a criminal matter, and the solution to this crime is not about the use of brute force. I’m told that some statement they released said they will not spare anybody. If you say you will not spare anyone who are you saying you are not going to spare? Is it the people in that town, district, anybody who comes on sight or the entire region? That is not the way to go,” the Central Regional Minister said.

Kwamena Duncan also called on the Ghana Armed Forces to use due process in the course of their investigations.

“It is a dastardly act, one that is unacceptable. But for A society which is governed by rules and laws, the best way to go about it is to apply the procedures, to investigate and pursue those who have committed this heinous crime and bring them to justice. The solution is not about going on rampage and attacking or brutalizing anybody that you see,” he added.

The Ghana Armed Forces had explained that Captain Mahama, a member of the 5th Infantry Battalion and his colleagues, were deployed to the town to curb illegal mining also known as galamsey.

The Ghana Armed Forces has also urged its troops to remain calm following the gruesome murder.

It said it was working to bring justice to the deceased and those affected by his murder.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Stop brutalizing people over soldier’s death – Kwamena Duncan appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.