AT A GLANCE
Bereaved family angry over refusal by Police to release report on shooting of relation at Krobo
Family gives ultimatum ahead of funeral
Threatens to dump body at police station if report is not released
The family of 23-year-old Thomas Narteh Partey who was shot dead by Police at Odawnor in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality during the disagreement over electricity bills has threatened to dump the body of the deceased at the police station.
The family has given the midday of Friday 12th July 2019 to the Police in the area to either update the family or release the report which they have duly paid for.
The family say they may be compelled to take the drastic action to draw public and national attention to its plight.
According to the family, even though it has officially written two letters, on the 10th and 24th June 2019, to the District Commander of the Police at Odumase-Krobo and subsequently to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in Accra, requesting an update on Police investigations into the incident, they have treated the requests with scorn, creating the impression that the family was being taken for granted.
Head of the family, Mr Winfred Sam Partey said: “…we wrote to officially request for the Police report and were made to pay GHC 80 for the processing of the said report one month ago but we have not been communicated to and all efforts to follow up have yielded no result…,”.
“Our son was harmless yet he was brutally murdered; we remained calm and have chosen to cooperate with the police but our peaceful posture is being taken for granted. We won’t hesitate to convey the corpse to the Police station if the Police continue treating our simple request – for the report – with contempt. One whole month after putting in an official request and paying for it, the service has not even acknowledged receipt of the letter let alone furnish us with the report to enable us to take a decision on the funeral and burial rites of our beloved son. We feel pushed to the wall…,” Mr Partey stated.
It will be recalled that on Wednesday 22nd May 2019, one person was shot dead when some residents of the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality took to the street to protest against what they described as overbilling by the Power Distribution Service (PDS) and the police-assisted disconnection exercise in the Krobo area.
Armed policemen who were unleashed on the protesters shot live bullets indiscriminately at the people, instantly killing 23-year-old Thomas Narteh Partey and injuring several others including an 18-year-old basic school pupil (a candidate of the just ended BECE) Ruth Mankattah and a 41-year-old farmer, Kortey Tetteh.
Ruth’s right leg which was penetrated by a bullet was subsequently amputated after spending several weeks on admission at the St. Joseph Orthopedic Hospital in Koforidua. Mr Tetteh was however treated and discharged. He is presently nursing a bullet wound in the thigh, rendering him immobile.