June 3 disaster: Man accused of causing fire walks away free?

As Ghana mourns and remembers the 154 innocent lives that were lost in the tragic flood and fire disaster last year, one thing that remains unclear in the minds of Ghanaians is what has happened to the man accused of causing the inferno.

One full year after the horrific incident, absolutely nothing has been heard about Seth Kwesi Ofosu who an investigative committee found culpable.

The Goil Filling Station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra became the site of a cruel catastrophe after a gas explosion left charred remains of persons who had sought refuge from the floods in the area.

Following the tragedy, government set up a committee to look into the cause of the fire and make recommendations to prevent such disasters in the future.

The five member committee under the chairmanship of Justice Douse in its findings established that a lit cigarette smoked by Mr Ofosu caused the fire. The committee was not clear whether the action by the suspect was deliberate.

He was said to be smoking during the rainstorm but failed to completely put out the cigarette and when the naked fire got in contact with the rain water mixed with leaked fuel from the Goil station disaster struck.

Several experts challenged the findings of the committee report after excerpts of it was made public at a press conference by the Interior Ministry describing it as wrong and lacked substance.

A Mechanical Engineer, Kofi Antwi contested the claim stating that never in his long career has he witnessed a lit cigarette causing fire.

“When you lit a fire without a flame and drop it down on petrol, it can never explode. I am 70 years old and I know what will happen when you drop a cigarette in a bucket full of petrol,” he insisted.

But others disagreed with Kofi Antwi’s position.

A Chemist at Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Mr. Emmanuel Ofoh, stated that petrol density is more than water therefore it can ignite fire when it comes into contact with lit cigarette.

“If there is petrol on the surface of water or suspended, definitely it will spark fire when it comes into contact with a lit cigarette,” he said.

Mr. Ofoh however said he could not confirm whether cigarette was the cause of the explosion or not because he was not at the scene.

The accused was subsequently handed over to Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) to determine whether or not he intentionally caused arson. That was the last heard about Mr Seth Kwesi Ofosu.

As the nation mourns the departed souls, Ghanaians are asking authorities to publicly state what the status is with respect to the investigation done on the accused.

Others are also of the strong believe that Mr Seth Kwesi Ofosu has been left a free man since the BNI failed to establish his complicity solid enough for prosecution, hence the silence on him.