A soldier has been killed at Diaso in the Upper Denkyira West district of the Central region.

The officer whose name has been giving us Captain Maxwell Mahama was lynched by residents on suspicion of being an armed robber.

The late Captain Maxwell Mahama was a military officer with the 5th Infantry Batallion (5BN) at Burma Camp in Accra but on detachment duties at the Denkyira Boase of the Central region.

Captain Mahama who is the commander of the area military detachment according to his subordinates , was seen jogging along the main road and as he stopped by to ask some women for directions, the women saw a pistol on him.

The women who were alarmed by the discovery of the pistol on Captain Mahama mistook him for an armed robber thereby alerting their assembly member who allegedly organised some men to lynch him and even burnt him in the process

The women’s action is said to have been influenced by recent robbery attacks in the area with a recent one been a day before as the people in the mining town have been subjected to some serious robbery attacks.

The military officer was not in uniform when the incident happened as he is even said to have pleaded to the mob not lynch him indicating that he was an army officer and not a criminal but his plea was not taken by the mob who hit him with several objects including cement blocks until he died.

He was stoned and burnt by youth of the area who mistook him for an armed robber.

The body has since been conveyed to a health facility in the area but for fear of being attacked by the soldiers who may avenge his death, the youth have started fleeing the town realizing that the deceased was not a criminal as they thought.

Meanwhile, scores of armed military personnel have been deployed to Denkyira-Obuasi as they mount a search for residents said to have lynched the Captain in charge of the area.

A statement from the Ghana Armed Forces says “a high-powered fact-finding team led by the Chief of Army Staff is proceeding to the scene of the incident to ascertain the facts of the case.”

Ghana Armed Forces say they are collaborating with the police and other security agencies to bring perpetrators to book.

“GAF is working closely with the police and other security agencies to unravel the full facts of the case.”