Asawase Killings: 5 Buried So Far

The Member of Parliament for Asawase Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak, has warned that the Zongo Community could run out of patience if the independent committee investigating the killing of the seven young men fails to expedite the process and issue its report.

According to him, relatives of the deceased and the entire community are anxious to know the outcome of the committee's report, and so any further delay may spark an uproar in the area.

The legislator made the remarks [today], after four of the seven young men were brought to the Kumasi central mosque for the final prayers before burial.

“It has really touched not only the spinal cord of the community, it has gone deep down to the marrow of the community and the community is very upset because 7 lives [were lost] at the same time.”

He said the failure of the committee to fast-track its report smacks of suspicion.

“The community is beginning to feel there was some [intent], this is where my worry is. Whether there was some [intent] or not is what the people are suspecting.”

Hon. Muntaka, who was utterly worried, charged the committee to expeditiously release the report or face the wrath of the irate youth.

“The committee must work very fast to allay their fears to be able to restore confidence in the committee, other than that, I hate to say that if something is not done drastically, we may lose control. And you know the consequences of dealing with a community that is densely populated by youth, so I am pleading that we do whatever we can quickly.”

5 out of seven buried so far
Five out of the seven deceased Zongo youth, suspected to be victims of police brutality in the Ashanti Region have been laid to rest.

It was a moment of grief as relatives and sympathizers of the deceased could not hold back their tears as four ambulances brought the bodies from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

There was heavy military presence to control the teeming crowd of residents who trooped to the Kumasi Central mosque to observe the final funeral rites.

Some of the aggrieved relatives who spoke to Citi News amidst tears rolling down from their eyes shared their fondest memories of their loved ones.

They reiterated that their family members who were shot were not armed robbers, and insisted that Allah will take vengeance.

The deceased were buried at the Tafo Cemetery.
Some youth held placards with inscriptions that called for justice.

Background
The Police announced in July that seven out of eight suspected robbers, whose attack reportedly led to the death of a Police Officer with the SWAT Unit of the Ashanti Regional Police Command, had been gunned down.

The deceased officer, Lance Corporal Daniel Teiku, was on duty with his colleague, Lance Corporal Eric Nsiah, when eight masked men attacked the vehicle they were traveling in at Ayirebikrom near Manso Nkwanta on July 11.

The deceased officer was on duty with his colleague when the incident happened.

The two were on board a Sprinter Benz Bus with registration number AC-644-15 when eight masked men armed with AK 47 assault rifles and a pump action gun attacked the passengers at the outskirts of Ayirebikrom on Wednesday, July 11, 2018.

The two police officers were overpowered by the masked men and were shot alongside with other passengers on board.

The masked men seized the weapons belonging to the officers in the process. The officer was pronounced dead upon arrival at the Saint Martins Hospital at Agroyesum, while the other officer was treated and discharged.

Four other passengers sustained injuries in the process.

The Police has often been accused of killing people without proof of them being robbers. But in most cases, such issues are not investigated to ascertain the truth or otherwise.