The Western Regional Police Command has been sued by the family of a taxi driver who died in police custody on December 25, 2021.

Members of the family say they suspect foul play over circumstances that led to the death of their relative.

Joseph Entsie was reported dead at the Sekondi Police cells after he was arrested for knocking down some Police officers around the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital.

Confirming the death of the 52-year-old taxi driver to JoyNews, Western Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), DSP Olivia Ewurabena Adiku, said the deceased is alleged to have committed suicide at the cell’s bathroom with his jeans trousers.

But according to a brother of the deceased, Kwame Appiah, the family is finding it difficult to accept the alleged suicide claim by the Police.

He says the Police and the Effia Nkwanta Hospital have not provided the family with any report regarding the death of Joseph.

“We will be going to court on March 2. After the post-mortem, we’ve not seen any report. The Police and the doctor have refused to give it to us. Instead, they say my brother hanged himself in the cells.”

“He was in shorts when he was going to the cells, but he was in trousers when he was found hanging dead. So who gave him that trousers? No one saw him hanging in the cells, so they have to come and explain everything to us”, he stated in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM.

Kwame Appiah stressed that until the truth is unravelled, no burial service will be held for the deceased, saying, “if our brother will be at the mortuary for 100 days, we don’t care because it is the police that took the body there and they are paying for it.”

“We are waiting for the whole issue to be investigated before we do the burial service. We can’t bury him right now because if we do, the case will be a foolish case.”

Other parties in the case are the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital and the Administrator of Eternity Funeral Home.