IGP ASSURES BEREAVED FAMILIES AT ASHAIMAN (SPREAD)

The Inspector General of Police, Mr Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong, has assured the bereaved families of the two persons who died during the clash between commercial drivers and the police at Ashaiman of support from the Police Service towards the burial of the victims.
He said the death of the two was traumatic and therefore the bereaved families should be supported to give their dead relations fitting burials.
The IGP said this when he visited the families yesterday to express the condolences of the government and to mourn with them.
The two — Moses Kassim, 11, and Ofori also known as Alhaji, 24, — died during a mob action when commercial drivers and the police in Ashaiman clashed over alleged wrong parking.
The IGP, who arrived in Ashaiman at 10 a.m. yesterday, spent more than five hours, during which he toured the incident scenes to ascertain the extent of damage to property, met executives of the various transport unions, visited the homes of the bereaved and went to the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly where he was presented with a report on events on the day of confusion as investigated by the Ashaiman Security Council (MUSEC).
At the house of the bereaved, Mr Acheampong consoled and commended them for their comportment.
He informed them that the police had deposited the bodies at the Police Hospital mortuary in Accra and would also waive any expenditures on services provided by the hospital.
Mr Acheampong said the Police Administration would institute thorough investigations into the incident and act accordingly.
He therefore appealed to them to be calm as the law would be applied to the letter to ensure that the culprits were brought to book.
The mother of Kassim, Madam Dede Tetteh, could not hold her tears back and wept uncontrollably as the elders of the family commended the IGP and his entourage for coming to mourn with them.
The father of the 24-year-old deceased driver, Mr Ofori Braimah, thanked the government for showing concern but said the body was of more importance to them and requested that it was delivered to the family as early as possible.
Mr Braimah disclosed that his son converted from Islam to Christianity and therefore became Moses Ofori, explaining why he gained the alias Alhaji.
Later at the meeting with the transport unions, Mr Kwarteng urged them to educate drivers to be very conversant with road regulations.
He noted that the police and drivers were friends and therefore must learn to co-exist to avoid occurrences like what happened on Tuesday, June 3, 2008.
Mr Acheampong called on the two parties to exercise restraint because their action had led to the death of innocent people.
He stated that Ashaiman was a young municipality and therefore would need peace for growth, emphasising that such incidents would not augur well for them.
The IGP, who was accompanied by the Deputy IGP in Charge of Administration, Mrs Elizabeth Mills Robertson; and the Director General of Criminal Investigations, Deputy Commissioner of Police Frank Adu Poku, was conducted round the problem areas by DCOP John Kudalor.
The Ashaiman Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Albert Boakye Okyere, said the MUSEC report that was submitted to the IGP was to assist quicken the pace of investigations.
The report identified some causes of the incident that sparked off the riot.
Meanwhile, following a closed door meeting yesterday between the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong, the Tema regional commander DCOP John Kudalor, the Ashaiman MTTU Commander, ASP Timothy Dassah has been interdicted.
Police sources said the MTTU Commander was cited for unprofessional conduct and the mishandling of the clash between the drivers and the police at Ashaiman on Tuesday.
The source said traffic offences were bailable crimes but the Ashaiman MTTU denied the drivers bail.