BY : DARI KWABENA MATHEW (+233555395925)
Residents, chiefs, elders of Mpataba led by the Member of Parliament for Jomoro Constituency in the Western Region, Dorcas Affo-Toffey, are demanding justice for slain Shadrach Aloo at the West Hills Mall in Accra.
The residents and the MP, clad in red and black dress with placards on Saturday, February 4, took to the principal streets of Mpataba to register their protest over the murder of the 32-year-old Aloo who was billed to travel to Germany next week.
They first marched peacefully to River Mpataba to invoke courses on anyone who would be partial or lie about the murder and to be killed by the river deity.
The libations were poured by chief priests and opinion leaders in the town.
They then marched to converge on a venue where various leaders addressed the crowd.
The MP for Jomoro, Dorcas Afo Toffey, called for calm, assuring that she has since started pushing for justice for the late Aloo.
“Before his untimely and gruesome death on the 30th of January, 2023, Shadrach was booked to travel to Germany within that week. Shadrach had therefore visited the West Hills Mall at Weija in the company of a friend, Ibrahim Sakyi to buy some items.”
She explained that “while they walked through the mall, a police officer stopped Shadrach to
conduct a search on him of which Shadrach resisted claiming he’s done no wrong”.
“He therefore challenged the police officer to take him to any nearest police post if any search would be conducted. The police officer didn’t agree but tried to use force to search his bag.”
Madam Afo Toffey said “this subsequently led to a raising of alarm from the police officer, inviting other security guards of the mall to bring Shadrach to the grounds handcuffed”.
She added that “it becomes absurd how a harmless and unprovoked response from the deceased upon desperate request from the police man could trigger him to unleash such cruelty on Shadrach. This act from the police officer, together with other security guards at the Mall made Shadrach helpless, vulnerable and disabled. The police officer wouldn’t even consider how weak Shadrach had become, still went ahead and knelt very close to his head, just like the case of George Floyd, while tasing him further. ‘Service with Integrity’ has been and still is the motto of Ghana Police Service and one can only expect protection of lives and property from them, and not to brutalize innocent citizen seven to the extent of killing”.
The MP noted that “the import of Article 15(1) and (2) of the 1992 constitution provide in no
uncertain terms for the respect for human dignity as follows:
“15(1) the dignity of all persons shall be protected.
“(2) No person shall, whether or not he is arrested, be restricted or detained, or be
subjected to-
(a) torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment:
(b)any other condition that detracts or is likely to detract from his dignity and
worth as a human being”.
The MP said “in view of this, I have called upon the lawyer, Hon. Francis Sosu, to expedite on a petition to the IGP, the Attorney General Department and the Parliamentary Select Committee on Defense and Interior”.
“Justice for Shadrach is what we are all seeking for.”
Demands
The MP, family of the slain Aloo and the entire town are demanding justice for the murder of the innocent young man.
“Whiles this is being done, I, together with the family demand of the following: 1. Just as the President issued a statement in the case of George Floyd, a Black American who was killed in a similar way, as “it cannot be right that, in the 21st Century, the United States, this great bastion of democracy, continues to grapple with the system of racism.
“On behalf of the people of Ghana, I express my deep condolence to the family and loved ones of the late George Floyd.
“We stand with our kith and kin in this difficult and trying times, and we hope that tragic death of George Floyd will inspire a lasting change in how Americans confront head on the problem of hate and racism.’’
“We expect and demand that H.E Nana Addo Dankwa issues a statement to commemorate with the family of Shadrach.
“2. The IGP should as a matter of urgency cause a full scale investigation in the murder of the deceased by his officers and culprits at the West Hills Mall with respect to the event on the 30th of January, 2023.
“3.The office of the IGP should also initiate or cause to be initiated a disciplinary and criminal proceedings on any officer and persons found culpable in the murder of the deceased, Shadrach Aloo.
“4. Lastly but not the least, the office of the IGP must initiate or cause to be initiated negotiations with Shadrach’s family to cover the cost and the financial burden brought on the family due to the recklessness of your officers and negotiate reasonable and appropriate monetary compensation to the family for the loss of life and for support for the four-year-old Son who has many years to live without the father (the deceased).”
The four-year-old son of the deceased
Madam Afo Toffey advised the Ghana Police Service to be professional in dealing with such cases.
“After all these have been met, we urge the police to give a firm assurance that such brutalities shall become a thing of the past.”
She assured that “we shall not rest until we arrest are rest assured”.
