More than 12 persons have been killed in the Akatsi South municipality in the Volta Region between the last quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of this year, 2023.
Statistics indicate that the deaths were due to robbery, vehicular accidents, police brutality and domestic violence.
The latest case was recorded on Tuesday, 21 June, which involved a 30-year-old man, Nelson Mandela Zanu, who was shot twice and killed by unknown gunmen in his neighbourhood while on his way home from work at about 8:00 pm.
Nelson was an Okada rider (commercial motorbike operator) and owned a mobile money business near the Akatsi College of Education.
Nelson was carrying with him seven smart and non-smartphones and a sum of over GHS 18,000 in his bag.
The unknown perpetrators took away the money, phones and his motorbike with registration number VR-436-13 after shooting him to death.
Police recovered from the scene a pistol believed to have been used to commit the crime.
He left behind two children, a seven- and two-year-old girl and boy respectively, and a 34-year-old widow, Georgina Adifu.
Father of the deceased, Steven Senugbe, said his family is depressed and short of words.
The father of the late Nelson is ,therefore, appealing to authorities, especially the Ghana Police Service to speed up investigations in order to serve justice.
Following his killing, tension has mounted at Atatsi as security officials scramble for clues in catching the perpetrators.
Residents planned to protest in honour of the deceased.
Meanwhile, the traditional rulers in the area led by the Paramount Chief of Avenor Traditional council, Torgbui Dorglo Anuma VI have organized a press conference to address the recent murder cases in the area.
A GHS 20,000 bounty provided by the Traditional Council and Avenor Senior Peers Chambers was issued to that effect.
The traditional rulers called for calm amidst investigation. “The Avenor Traditional Council calls for calm in these difficult times of recurrent incidents of loss of civilian lives and consequent Police-civilian tension”.
The Chief also called off the planned protest by the Akatsi South youth parliament in honour of the deceased.
“The planned demonstration organized by the Akatsi South Youth Parliament should be called off with immediate effect, as it is feared that fallouts of the intended demonstration may have the unintended consequence of diverting focus from the ongoing investigation into the murder of Mandela Zanu, which we are aware have commenced,” Torgbui Dorglo Anuma noted.
Speaker of the youth parliament, Daniel Amuzu Kale, in a separate press briefing said “as a respectful and listening youth leadership as we are, we accepted the call by the Akatsi South police command and the traditional council to call off the demonstration.”