Contractor and labourer remanded for assaulting ECG staff

A 42-year-old building contractor and a 24-year-old construction labourer have been remanded in police custody for allegedly assaulting two staff of the Dodowa District of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

The incident occurred in Oyarifa, a suburb of Accra on May 22, 2023 at around 3:30pm when two ECG Technicians, Thomas Tetteh Yemo and Evans Kwame Ofori were performing their official duties by disconnecting customers that owe ECG.

The first accused; Shadrack Adjetey Monnie mobilised second accused; Anyetei Ezekiel and others who are currently at large that prevented the ECG officials from performing their duties.

The two accused persons appeared before an Accra Circuit court on Friday, June 2, 2023 and pleaded not guilty to offenses of assault, conspiracy and causing unlawful damaged.

The Court presided over by Mr. Samuel Bright Acquah remanded the accused persons in custody after the Prosecutor, Mr. Paul Asibi Abariga pleaded the court to reprimand them to serve as a deterrent to others from committing such crimes and to safeguard the lives of ECG staff.

The case was adjourned to June, 8 2023.

According to the facts of the case presented by Mr. Abariga, while the two ECG staff; Tetteh Yemo and Kwame Ofori on June 2, 2023 were going about their lawful duties by disconnecting customers who were owing in Oyarifa and it environs, first accused; Shadrack Ajetey organised all the accused persons to prevent the ECG staff from performing their duties in Oyarifa township.

The prosecutor narrated that when the first complainant, Tetteh Yemo went to the house of customers who were owing ECG, the accused persons and their accomplices went and ordered him to leave without any reason, adding that none of the accused persons lives in that particular house.

He said, the accused persons pushed the complainant who fell into a dirty stagnant water resulting in the damage of his mobile phone. When the second complainant, Kwame Ofori was going to the aid of his colleague, the accused persons rushed on him to assault him.

Mr. Abariga told the court that as the second complainant forced his way out to join a commercial vehicle, the accused persons chased and hit him, resulting in a fall.

As a result of the assault, Kwame Ofori’s ECG jacket was damaged while he lost his spectacles and ECG identity card holder. The police emerged later to arrest the first accused while the others escaped.

According to the Prosecutor, the second accused was arrested by the Ayi Mensah Police on May 23 2023 and the second complainant identified him as one of the people that attacked and beat him and his colleague.

The accused persons were later handed over to the ECG investigation unit for further action while police medical forms were issued to the complainants to attend hospital.

He said the complainants returned the forms dully signed by a medical officer with a report that confirms the assault. The accused persons were therefore charged after investigations and arraigned before the court.