The Deputy Western Regional Minister, Mr. Kwasi Blay, has directed the Regional Police Command of the Ghana Police Service, to investigate circumstances that led to a brutal assault on one Robert Ebate-Buah, 38, at Sefwi Asafo, by a police officer.

The Minister, who is also the Chairman of the Regional Peace Advisory Committee (RPAC) and a member of the Regional Security Council, told The Chronicle in an interview, that his call for the investigation stemmed from a petition he had personally received from the father of the victim, narrating how the police officer, Inspector Philip Bernard Kumako, head of Sefwi Asenso Police, assaulted his son without provocation.

The petition has been forwarded to the Regional Police Command.

A source within the police service has confirmed receipt of the petition, and the Minister's order.

According to the Minister, as the Chairman of the Regional Peace Advisory Committee, he could not sit unconcerned but task the police to cause an investigation to unravel the circumstances which led to the police officer allegedly assaulting the young man.

Narrating how the victim was assaulted, the father of the victim, Robert Buah Snr. told the media that on 25th August, this year, at around 8a.m. his son, who had been employed as a community announcer, was in a room reserved for his duty by the community, when Inspector Philip Bernard Kumah entered and questioned him as to whether he had not been given a period for such announcements?

Before he could say jack, Inspector Kumah ordered him to quit the announcement room. The announcement room is said to be close to the house of the Police Inspector.

According to the father, his son then walked to the door, waiting for the Police Inspector to walk out of the room, in order to lock the door.

The police officer, however, had a different agenda.

He banged the head of the victim against the door and went further to pick a chair and hit him on the mouth.

The father of the victim, continued that it took the wife of the Police Inspector to intervene before the latter left the victim.

The officer then quickly ran away from the scene, when people in the community heard about the incident.

He (father) later went to the police station to demand medical forms to take his son to the hospital but his request was denied.

In a related development, one Moses Mensah has protested vehemently about how the police detained him for three days, with other suspected criminals arrested during a police swoop at the Zenith Area, a suburb of Takoradi. This was on the 18th of July this year.

Narrating how he was arrested and detained by the police on the day in question, Moses said he was returning home after attending nature's call, when the police arrested him saying that he was a criminal.

He said whilst on detention for three days, the police allegedly demanded from him GH¢50 before he would be released.

He eventually had to pay the money and was subsequently set free.



Source: The Chronicle