Legal proceedings would soon be instituted against the Member of Parliament (MP) for Atwima-Mponua constituency in the Ashanti region, Akwasi Dante-Afriyie over the death of three people involved in an accident on the Accra-Kumasi road.
The victims, Gifty Sarah Kwawu, an employee of World Vision International, a Non-Governmental Organisation, (NGO), Leonora Kwawu, a final year student of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi and John Abotsi, driver and employee of the NGO, met their untimely death when a Magirus Deutz tipper truck with registration number GR 4244P, belonging to the MP and driven by his agent, ran into a vehicle on which they were travelling from Kumasi, after it had burst its front off-side tyres.
The two employees of the NGO died instantly while the third person died on arrival at the Nsawam Government Hospital from the accident, which occurred on October 6, 2001, at Teacher Mante, a town near Nsawam-Suhum road.
The Toyota Land cruiser vehicle, with registration number GT 3114G, belonging to the NGO, occupied by the victims at the time of the accident was wrecked beyond repair, it was learnt. Chronicle sources say the MP, over the past two years had refused to produce his driver, currently at large, as requested by the police to assist in the completion of investigations into the case.
According to the families of the victims, Mr. Dante-Afriyie had neither shown concern to them nor visited them during their time of grief. A police report intercepted by Chronicle indicates that particulars of the driver of the tipper truck could not be traced in the vehicle.
The victims suffered injuries ranging from ruptured liver, bone injuries, as well as multiple soft tissues following the fatal accident, the report had further indicated.
Reacting to our queries, Tuesday this week, Mr. Dante-Afriyie confirmed the accusation leveled against him but was quick to add that he made efforts to reach the families of the victims but to no avail.
The MP further indicated that his vehicle was parked at a parking lot about three years before the accident occurred due to the behaviour of his driver at that time, Slim Macho, as he was popularly called and could not fathom how it got involved in an accident, since he had not authorised anybody to move it from its parking place.
According to the MP, he could not identify any one who drove the car since he had not given authorization to anyone.
He said the first time he heard of the incident was through a telephone call from his sister because he was away in the United States and on hearing the incident he was deeply shocked.
Mr. Dante-Afriyie told Chronicle that, he returned in less than two days after the accident from the US and subsequently went to the accident scene and thence to the Nsawam police station where the case was reported and gave his statement.
He indicated that he left his particulars with the police in case he was needed in connection with the case.
The MP also said he went to the offices of World Vision International in Accra to inquire of the addresses of the victims in order to contact their families but could not receive any help from the receptionist at the time, as she appeared hostile towards him.
From there he went back to the Nsawam police station to check if any of the families of the victims had gone to look for him or left their addresses but all to no avail.
In view of those difficulties, the MP explained that he could not meet the victims’ families stressing that since the issue had taken a legal dimension, he had authorised his lawyer to respond to the issue appropriately.
