Cops Kill 2 Brothers

The two siblings lying dead [INSET: Francis Gbene when he was alive]

A TUTOR at the Asante Mampong Midwifery Training School and his younger brother, who were on a motorbike, were in the wee hours of Wednesday allegedly shot dead by a police patrol team, who mistook them for armed robbers.

Francis Gbene, 34, an Anatomy and Physiology teacher and his brother, Thaddeus Gbene, 28, were allegedly shot in the back and head respectively at about 2:00 a.m. by the law enforcers.

Francis Gbene and Thaddeus Gbene, a plumber, who were both workers of the school, were reportedly trying to seek support for a female teacher at the school whose residence was purportedly being attacked by suspected armed robbers.

Francis, a native of Wa in the Upper West Region, was given an additional responsibility as a tutor of Nursing Informatics.

His mother had arrived from Wa the previous night to spend some time with her three children – all residing at the college campus – only to be greeted with the tragedy, Isaac Gbene, another younger brother of the deceased tutor, stated.

The police patrol team had also received a distress call about the invasion of the female teacher's house by suspected armed robbers and so they (police) were rushing there to help when they saw two men speeding away on a motorbike.

The police patrol team thought the two men were the robbers and so they reportedly gave them a hot chase, amid blowing of siren to beckon them to stop, but the men did not stop.

In the course of the chase, one of the men on the motorbike turned and the policemen thought perhaps he was trying to shoot at them so they (police) opened fire at them, which sent them to the ground.

Thaddeus, who was sitting behind his brother, reportedly died on the spot but Francis, who was then alive and bleeding profusely, was rushed to the hospital where he later gave up the ghost.

ASP Mohammed Yussif Tanko, Ashanti Regional Police PRO, said it was after the two men had been shot that the police realised that they were not the robbers, adding that the regional police command was not happy about the development.

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Investigation
ASP Mohammed Tanko disclosed that the regional command had sent men to Asante Mampong to investigate the case, stressing that if the officers that went on that particular duty were found culpable, the necessary punitive action would be taken against them.

He stated that the shooting was not deliberate, but added that the regional command was attaching the necessary seriousness to the matter, considering that valuable human lives had been lost.

 
Shooting
Throwing more light on the case, the police PRO said around 2am on Wednesday, the police received a distress call that armed robbers had invaded the residence of a female teacher at the Mampong Midwifery School campus.

He said from the narration of the patrol team, when the police vehicle reached the robbery scene, the people at the crime scene told them (police) that the armed robbers had taken a particular route.

“So as they (police) negotiated a curve, they saw a motorbike at top speed so they (police) tried to stop them, thinking they were the robbers, but the two men on the motorbike refused to stop,” he said.

ASP Tanko disclosed that the police then pursued the men on the motorbike for some time so when one of them turned, they (police) thought they were trying to shoot at them because he was holding something that appeared like a weapon.

“The policemen then shot at them. Unfortunately, later we discovered that they were not the robbers but indeed they were also running around to see if they could get some assistance for the robbery victim.”

The bodies of Francis and Thaddeus have since been deposited at the Asante Mampong Government Hospital awaiting autopsy.

FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr. & Ernest Kofi Adu, Asante Mampong