Tragedy Hits Three Cops

Tragedy hit three policemen who had gone on an unofficial operation at Nsawam when the vehicle on which they were travelling was involved in an accident, killing two of them instantly and putting one in a life-threatening condition.

They are Sgt Emmanuel Ayensu and L/Cpl Patrick Doe, both deceased, and L/Cpl Sylvester Kabaya, now on admission at the Police Hospital in Accra.

They were alleged to have been contracted by someone to go and collect money from a debtor somewhere near Nsawam but on their way back to Accra they were involved in that tragic accident at Adoagyiri, near Nsawam.

The private vehicle on which they were travelling was said to have run head-on into an oncoming vehicle.
The three policemen are all from the Mobile Force Barracks, near the Licensing Office in Accra, and the barracks has been thrown into a state of mourning since Sunday, May 28, 2006, when the accident occurred.

Sources at the barracks told the Daily Graphic that the three policemen managed to arrest the debtor but on their way back to Accra, the debtor, who was in the back seat, together with two of the policemen, allegedly held the neck of the driver in an attempt to stop the vehicle and flee.

In the process, the driver lost control of the vehicle, leading to the accident. The debtor also died on the spot.

When the Daily Graphic visited Madam Josephine Darkoa, the wife of one of the deceased, Sgt Ayensu, yesterday, she confirmed that her husband and two other policemen had been involved in an accident more than a week ago.

She said on that fateful day, her husband left home around 6.30 a.m. in a police uniform for work, adding that she had prepared his food, on the expectation that he would come back home later in the day but he did not return.

Madam Darkoa said the following morning she was informed about the shocking news that her husband had died in a motor accident.

“It was a painful experience,” she said tearfully, and asked for the prayers of all loved ones to enable her to endure that difficult experience.

The late Sgt Ayensu had been married to Madam Darkoa for 18 years and they had two daughters. The elder, aged 14, is in junior secondary school (JSS), while the younger, aged 12, is in Primary Six.

Madam Darkoa is jobless and her main concern now is how to move on with life after the tragic death of her husband. She is particularly concerned about how to fend for her children, especially their schooling.