Teachers protest against alleged police molestation

Ho, Feb. 15, GNA - Teachers in the Ho Municipality on Wednesday besieged the municipal police station and protested against an alleged molestation of a colleague by some police recruits.

The teachers also resolved at a meeting to embark on a three-day strike as a further demonstration against whet they called "intemperate attitude" of the police recruits.

Briefing his colleague teachers at the meeting, Mr Bernard Amedzor of Ho Fiave Junior Secondary School, the alleged victim, said on February 6, this year, he went to the Police Training School park to take a class through preparations for a sports event, but later learnt the training had been called off.

He alleged that on his way back to the school, he met a police recruit who ordered him not to use the path he had taken. According to Mr Amedzor, an argument ensued between him and the recruit and some women who were around advised him to comply with the order, which he did.

He said while taking an alternative route, he heard someone behind him shouting, "Armed robber! Armed robber!" followed by an attack on him by a group of young men believed to be police recruits, who beat him mercilessly and dragged him on the ground.

Mr Amedzor said the group put him into a private car, drove him to the centre of town where they dragged him out of the car, handcuffed him and paraded him in his torn training suit to the municipal police station.

He alleged that his assailants informed some police personnel at the station that he had slapped a policeman. This, he said, infuriated the personnel who also took turns to slaps him. Mr Amedzor said the Police declined his demand to write his own statement, and that his request for a medical form and water was also turned down.

He said he was rather forced to sign a statement written by the policemen.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency later, DSP Charles Botwe, Commandant of the Police Training School, said he received no official report about the alleged incident.

However, the Municipal Police Commander, Mr Kwadwo Appiagyei, said Mr Amedzor should have known that, the route he was taking was not a thoroughfare.

He said the case did not warrant a mass protest by the teachers because their colleague was neither molested in the classroom nor the school compound.

Mr Appiagyei said Mr Amedzor needed time in order to regain his composure before being allowed to write his statement while investigations continued.