Today in History: How the police allegedly killed a 28-year-old young man at Nkoranza

The Ghana Police Service faced a series of accusations for the role it played in the killing of 28-year-old Albert Akwasi Donkor in Nkoranza.

The police accused the dead suspect, Albert, of robbery and being part of a gun battle with the personnel on April 24, 2022, which resulted in his death.

Families and community members have since disagreed with the allegation levelled against Albert by the police and have called for further investigation into the cause of his death.

On April 04, 2023, the police service met with the families of the dead suspect to confirm their claim that Albert was an armed robber.

A year ago today, GhanaWeb reported a full account of how the police allegedly killed 28-year-old Albert.

Read the full details and the 2022 story as published by GhanaWeb on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, below:

The Ghana Police Service was accused of allegedly killing a 28-year-old Albert Akwasi Donkor in Nkoranza.

According to Emmanuel Agyekum, the Nkoranza South MP, the footballer, and digital television installer, was picked up from his home at Nkoranza by some armed police officers at 2:00 am on April 24, 2022, into an unregistered vehicle on an anti-armed robbery operation.

He alleged that it took the armed police officers three to four hours after he was picked up, to kill the young man he describes as his son.

Giving a vivid account during an interview on Accra-based Joy FM, Monday, May 16, the MP noted that after the late Donkor was murdered by the police, his mortal remains were taken to the Techiman Holy Family mortuary, but the body was rejected by the mortuary attendant[s].

He dared the police to deny his account and he is ever ready to prove his allegations with evidence.

“In fact, Albert was killed within three to four hours after he was picked up. I am telling you the truth; thus, within three to four hours from 2:00 am to about 5:00 am they had finished him and they took him to the mortuary in Techiman Holy Family and they refused to take the body because they needed a family member to sign for the body. I have all these accounts if they want to deny, they should come and deny.

“So the young man was picked from his house, he was taken to the Police station, his statement was taken, if only it has not been doctored now or they have not changed it, they took him somewhere and the boy was finished,” Emmanuel Agyekum recounted.

He continued: “they have the people who wrote his statement, they have everybody, and they are all there. In fact, most of them who were stationed in Nkoranza have all runaway. Find out if they are still at home.”

Mr. Agyekum also disclosed how the Police were silent on the issue and did not open about the death of Albert until after three weeks before they were told about the sad news.

“Since April 25 and they are turning us up and down. They say go to Techiman, go to Nkoranza, go to Kintampo, and go to Accra. They just wrote a paper to the mother to go to the Police Intelligence Unit in Accra with your son’s picture to see if he is there then that is when I went to the Police Intelligence Unit that was where they told me that actually, this is what we do here so I called the family to tell them if this is the case then I think we have a problem here and that is where they managed to tell us that the boy is dead.

“I will also give you a clue, maybe they will change in the future. There are also two Policemen who saw Albert about twenty or thirty minutes before the robbery incident. Probably one day they will say they did not say, but they are there if they are not scared. One Police inspector and one youth Police officer. We have the evidence and so are waiting for them to come out with their statement.”

Emmanuel Agyekum stressed further that, the family has since contacted a lawyer to take up the matter while some human rights organisations, the Interior Minister and the Inspector General of Police have been petitioned on the matter.

He warned that Albert Akwasi Donkor's family will ensure they seek justice for the murder of their relative.

“We are doing our best to make sure Albert, at least, wherever he is now knowing there is justice and not that kind of barbaric policing,” Emmanuel Agyekum added.

The Ghana Police Service in the Bono East Region told the family that, the deceased was hit by a bullet by a supposed member of an armed robbery gang when the victim was leading them to other accomplices.

But the Nkoranza residents, as well as the family, believe that the deceased, Albert Akwasi Donkor, may have been targeted after he chanced on a robbery scene involving some Police officers.

He is said to have divulged information on the alleged robbery to some friends, only to be picked up by Police the next day.

Meanwhile, Rev Dr. Mathias Sarkodie, uncle to the late Albert Akwasi Donkor, said, “as a family, we have taken the matter up to the High Court in Accra for us to get justice for Albert. In addition, we have written to the IGP, the Interior Ministry, and the President.

“So, we think the Judiciary plus the Executive would come together to give Justice to Albert.

“We want to use Albert’s incident to put a halt to some of these incidences. When they picked him, they thought Albert was nobody…as a family, we wanted to seek justice for Albert and get this issue halted in the country to live peacefully. We don’t know the next person they are targeting, and so we have to use this as an opportunity to redress the issue."

Update After Police Investigations:

An investigation by the police confirmed that Albert Donkor, who allegedly died in police custody in April 2022, was indeed an armed robber.

This was disclosed to the family by the law enforcement department of the Ghana Police Service after police investigations were carried out since the incident.

The report by the police revealed that Albert Donkor was part of the gang that exchanged fire with the police dispatched to the robbery scene in Nkoranza.

According to the report, as reported by DailyGuide Newspaper, the police on April 14, 2023, met with the families of the deceased suspect, Albert Donkor as well as Victor Owusu, who also died in the shooting incident, to brief them on the outcome of the investigation and the occurrences that led to their sad demise.

The Forensic report as presented by the police established that the ITEL mobile phone retrieved at the robbery scene was for the deceased.

The phone, ITEL W6004 A56, contained the deceased’s voter’s ID card and a picture of a Rugger pistol with serial number 310-23294 that was taken by the deceased.

The report also added that a retrieved grey-like hoodie in the course of the investigation belonged to the deceased, Albert Donkor.

The Police Professional Standard Bureau (PPSB), in its report, noted that if the police had acted a little more professionally, there would have been a better way to apprehend the suspects alive, the newspaper reported.

The Daily Guide further added that the findings of the investigation revealed that Albert Donkor, the deceased suspect who is the centre of the controversy, died of a head injury, fall and brain tumour and not from the gunshots as believed by the public.

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