Police Murder Innocent Man, Claim He Is Armed Robber

The bereaved family of the late Kwaku Asante, who cops took for an armed robber and was shot dead last Saturday night, has countered the claim by the police that the deceased was an armed robber.

The police claim Asante engaged the police in a shoot out from their (armed robbers) hide out, and died in the cross fire, but the family say it is not true that their relation was an armed robber.

Pastor Prince Appiagyei Brempong, spokesman of the family, said around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday night, word came in that a terrorist group from Aboabo was about to attack the people of Sawaba, and as it was the practice of this “Al-Qaeeda” group to attack the residents of Sepe-Timpom, the Assembly Member, Anokye Frimpong ,alerted the Asawase Police Commander.

He said, unknown to the Assembly Member, someone had also made a distress call to the Buffalo Unit, which deployed a team to the area, at Sepe-Timpom, where the people had readied themselves for the attackers.

Pastor Prince, as he is known, further explained that on arriving at Sepe-Timpom, the Buffalo patrol team met the Assembly Member and a crowd, who were waiting for the Asawase police to come to their rescue, in case the terrorists attacked.

According to the spokesman, hardly had the Buffalo team arrived than they fired warning shots and searched through the crowd to handpick the deceased, who was behind the Assembly Member.

The spokesman said the police dragged Asante through the crowd, shot him several times, and also inflicted cutlass wounds on his body, before dumping it in their vehicle.

He said soon after the unfortunate killing, the Asawase Police Commander and his men also arrived at the scene, but rather too late.

Pastor Prince has denied that the people the police encountered at Sepe-Timpom were engaged in a shoot out, and neither were they in a hide out, as the police want the world to believe.

The spokesman has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Ashanti Regional Minister to cause full scale investigations into the murder of Asante, a 24-year-old electrician, at Sepe-Timpom in Kumasi.

It would help unravel the circumstances that led to the killing of the boy by the police without any provocation.

The youth of the town have since the incident protested against the killing of Asante by the police, but the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Corporal Godwin Ahianyo, wants the youth to produce evidence of Asante’s innocence.

Three other people, Kwadwo Isaac, 34, Nicholas Amoah, 20, and Peter Rai, 20, who were also arrested, are helping the police in their investigation.

Meanwhile, Anokye Frimpong has collaborated the position of the bereaved family, and said the deceased was not a known criminal, let alone, be a “notorious armed robber” as was claimed.

He said an enquiry into the death would bring out the truth surrounding the death of Asante. Mr. Anokye Frimpong said the claim by the police was false and an afterthought of the unfortunate killing of the late electrician without any cause.

The Assembly Member, who is yet to give a written statement to the police, says he can identify the police man who shot the deceased at close range in the crowd.

The Chronicle has gathered that the Ashanti police Commander has, after a meeting with the bereaved family, Assembly member and senior police officers on Monday, come to the realisation that the police erred in killing Asante, because there was no gunshots which might have provoked the police to fire back and kill Asante.