Drivers at war with Navy in Sekondi

Naval personnel in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis who usually board commercial vehicles, also called “trotro”, to and from Sekondi on daily basis will have to look for other means of transport.

This is because the Sekondi Trotro Station Local Union has banned naval personnel in the metropolis from boarding their vehicles at the Sekondi trotro station in Takoradi.

The drivers took the decision after a naval officer allegedly assaulted one of the drivers Monday morning.

The crime of the victim, one Mathew Anderson, was that he purportedly refused to heed instructions from a naval person on board the trotro to speed up.

The trotro driver was allegedly given some slaps by the naval officer, resulting in the driver developing a bloodshot eye.

According to sources, when the naval officer got to his destination and alighted from the trotro, he was joined by a colleague naval officer believed to be stationed at the Sekondi Naval Base.

The two officers were alleged to have physically assaulted the trotro driver for not speeding when the navy man on board had asked him to.

Narrating his ordeal, the driver noted that he started his usual job of transporting passengers to and from Sekondi using the beach road in the morning.

He noted that after loading passengers at about 8:30am on Monday, he set off but had to slow down upon reaching the bad stretch of road from the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital to Ekuase, a suburb of Sekondi.

He indicated that the naval officer, who was in uniform and among the passengers, allegedly began to put pressure on him to speed “but I could not speed up because that stretch of road was bad.”

The trotro driver added that the naval officer continued to insult him till he reached his final destination.

“Then all of a sudden, the officer opened my door, pulled me from my seat and started harassing me.

“One of his colleagues, who was not in my vehicle, attacked me from behind and slapped me.”

Confirming the story to DAILY GUIDE, a source stated that the incident was the second time naval personnel had physically assaulted a driver.

He then stressed that no naval officer from the Sekondi Naval Command would be allowed to board trotro from the station.

He indicated that the matter had been reported to the Sekondi police.