The Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Godwin Ahianyo, has disclosed that a commercial driver who was arrested for stabbing an official of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly to death will be put before a court.
The driver and his mate were both arrested by the Kumasi police after they reportedly engaged in a brawl with the 50-year-old deceased, Thomas Amakye Yankey, alias Congo Soldier.
According to reports, during the altercation with the deceased, who is a security guard of the KMA, over a parking spot, the driver pulled out a knife and stabbed him three times, leading to his death.
Speaking to JoyNews on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, DSP Godwin Ahianyo noted that the suspect will be put before court later on Tuesday and will be pressed with a preliminary charge of murder.
“We are preparing the suspects for court today. As you know, when incidents of this nature happen per the criminal justice system, it is the Attorney General that prefers charges. But provisionally, when I spoke to the commander, since a life has been lost, he said it is going to be a charge of murder,” he stated.
The PRO noted that the police will pray for the suspect to be remanded into custody pending the conclusion of investigations and on the advice of the Attorney General on the matter.
A spokesperson of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Afia Konadu, speaking on the circumstances leading to the stabbing said, “The driver was loading in the middle of the road and so the deceased confronted him to get off the road and park at a designated area… So the ‘trotro’ driver stabbed him in the neck and on the stomach [following the confrontation].”
However, there have been reports that the deceased security guard had first attacked the driver, resulting in a self-defensive act.
But speaking to Joy News, ASP Ahianyo said the police are focused on ensuring thorough investigations into the matter to establish the facts.
“It is the investigations that will establish… we are gathering all the evidences. We have spoken with some eyewitnesses; we have spoken with a colleague who were with him as part of the statement…. as part of our investigations, we will put all this bits and pieces together,” he stated.
On the status of the driver’s mate, the police PRO said the mate has been granted bail as the police have so far not been able to connect him to the crime, but maintained that further investigations will determine his fate.
He added that the body of the deceased is currently at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital mortuary pending an autopsy, after which the body will be released to his family for burial.
Source: ghanaweb
