Armed robbers attack Nkawkaw Hospital

The 10 expatriate Catholic Nuns, including a Matron, Nurses, a Chief Accountant and other Para-medical Staff at the Holy Family Hospital at Nkawkaw in the Eastern Region have threatened to withdraw their services and leave for their respective countries because incessant robberies.

They have been robbed on six different occasions within 30 months, their property worth million of cedis and cash including foreign currencies have been stolen.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency at Nkawkaw on Tuesday, the Matron of the Hospital, the Reverend Sister Annees said, at about 2 am on November 17, about 15 armed robbers, armed with guns, cutlasses, a gallon of petrol and other offensive instruments, attacked the hospital and took the Security-men hostage for over one hour.

He said they forced the doors of their Convent open, disconnected their telephone lines and threatened to set their rooms ablaze if they refused to give them dollars.

She said as humanitarian workers serving the community they could not bear the persistent attacks and robberies, adding: "Since the security agencies have failed to give us the needed protection, we have to leave to save our lives".

Samuel Owusu Ampadu, Chief Security Officer at the Hospital, who confirmed the story, however gave the number of the suspected armed robbers as about 20.

He said, they jumped the wall of the hospital and seized the shot guns of the two security guards manning the Sisters' Convent.

He said they used the two Security guards as front shield and broke into the Convent and the Cashier's Office and brought out a safe containing some money but could not carry it away following the arrival of the Police.

Ampadu said the robbers used a hand bell to wake up the Sisters and demanded dollars from them or they would set their residence ablaze so one of the Sisters threw a polythene bag containing about 500,000 cedis to them before they left.

He said following the disconnection of their telephone lines, he had to send one of the Security guards to inform the Police but he met the Police Patrol Team on the way and led them to the hospital.

On arrival, however, they realised that the robbers had locked all the gates to the hospital so the guards had to climb the wall to open the gates for the Police to enter.

The Chief Security Officer said when the robbers saw the Police they fled by jumping the wall leaving behind two out of the three shot guns they seized from the Security guards and a cutlass.

The Hospital Administrator, Mr Albert Ofori Mensah appealed to the Police for assistance to ensure security at the hospital. The Police confirmed the robbery but said no arrest had been made.