The Ashaiman mayhem..MUM WANTS REDRESS (1b)

Story: Rose Hayford Darko, Ashaiman

Madam Dede Tetteh, the mother of Moses Kassim, the boy who was shot dead during the clash between commercial drivers and the police in Ashaiman last Tuesday, has called on the police to compensate her for her son’s death.
Madam Tetteh, 28, who was found in a pensive mood in her house at Ashaiman, surrounded by sympathisers, wept intermittently as she narrated the circumstances leading to her son’s death.
She said Kassim, the eldest of her seven children, attended the Ashaiman Government School and was in Class Four.
According to her, on Tuesday Kassim was to go to school on the afternoon shift and he was on his way to attend the call of nature when he was shot in the middle of the road.
She said the family was waiting on what action the police would take before it would decide on his burial.
Meanwhile, calm has been restored in Ashaiman after Tuesday’s bloody affair, during which two persons died and several others were injured.
Yesterday shops opened, traders displayed their wares and vehicles plied their routes, with passengers being conveyed to their destinations.
However, some residents said they still felt unsafe because they thought the drivers were not satisfied with the decisions of the police.
The police were found on parade at the Ashaiman Police Station, battle ready with helmets and guns.
When the executive of the Ashaiman Branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) was contacted, the First Trustee of the branch, Mr Augustine Kyeremeh, said the drivers would not go onto the streets again because their leadership was in dialogue with the police and other stakeholders for their demands to be met.
He said the five drivers whose arrest last Monday had sparked off the riot were released on police bail at 5.00 p.m. on Tuesday pending further investigations into the circumstances that led to their arrest.
Mr Kyeremeh explained that drivers in Ashaiman got infuriated when the police initially refused to grant bail to the arrested drivers.
He said drivers of the GPRTU and other transport unions in Ashaiman had complained to the police that some strange drivers operated at the same area but the police had not acted on it.
Mr Kyeremeh described the behaviour of the police as discriminatory and unprofessional and called on the Police Council to investigate their behaviour and act accordingly.
He alleged that the Judiciary had also not been fair to the drivers when they appeared in court for allegedly committing traffic offences because they were not given the opportunity to explain their circumstances.
Mr Kyeremeh appealed to the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly to erect signposts to enable drivers know where to stop to pick and drop passengers.