Police retrieve Hawa Koomson’s gun
The Central Regional Police Command has retrieved the weapon allegedly fired by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Awutu Senya East, Mrs Mavis Hawa Koomson, at the Steps to Christ Registration Centre.
The police also retrieved the licence covering the weapon when she reported herself to the Central Regional Commander in Cape Coast yesterday, in the company of her lawyers.
Questioning
The MP, who is also the Minister for Special Development Initiatives, was invited for questioning by the Central Regional branch of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service.
According to the Director of the Police Public Affairs Directorate, Superintendent Mrs Sheila Abayie-Buckman, after questioning Mrs Koomson in the presence of her lawyers, the police also took her through an earlier statement she had given to the police on Wednesday, July 22, 2020.
Firing shots
The MP had admitted to firing shots at a voters registration centre in her constituency on Monday, July 20, 2020 "to protect herself".
In a television interview, she had said she fired "warning shots" because "there were no police around".
She said she went to the centre after receiving information that people from outside the constituency had been bussed there to register as voters.
According to her, she had received the information last Thursday and decided to visit the registration centre on Monday morning.
Motorbikes
According to her, her manager took the lead and arrived at the centre earlier, but when she got there, there were many boys on motorbikes and she felt her life and those of the people with her were in danger and so she fired the warning shots in an attempt to scare those on motorbikes.
"I didn't direct it at anybody," she added, and explained that she did not have her police escort with her at the time.
The incident occurred at the centre situated at the Steps to Christ Polling Station, but reports indicated that there were other gunshots, apart from the one fired by Mrs Koomson.
Some motorbikes were burnt at the centre and EC officials there were alleged to have been attacked as well during the confusion which disrupted the registration process for a while.
The police later intervened and arrested four people after the shooting. They also seized a gun.
Four suspects
The police, on July 20, 2020, arrested four suspects — Sulley Razak, Majeed Amadu, Suleman Yusuf and Razak Musa — at the Kasoa Peace Town Top Hill Down Registration Centre, on receiving complaint that they had gone to disrupt the registration process and that one of them had fired a gun at the centre.
The police retrieved one pistol from Musa and found one S&B empty shell at the centre, while three burnt motorbikes were also retrieved from the scene.
The four suspects were charged with conspiracy to commit crime, causing unlawful damage and discharge of firearms in a public place without authority and arraigned before the Cape Coast Circuit Court the next day, July 21, 2020.
Granted bail
The court, presided by Dorinda Smith Arthur, granted bail to the suspects in the sum of GHc30,000 each, with two sureties, one of whom should be a government worker earning not less than GHc2,000 a month.
The case was adjourned to August 18, 2020 for a case management conference but the accused were to report themselves to the Kasoa Police every Tuesday.
While the four suspects were being processed for court at the Regional CID in Cape Coast, following their arrest, Mrs Koomson said on radio that she was the one who had fired the gun.
Therefore, the police took a statement from her on Wednesday, 22nd July, 2020.
Meanwhile, the case docket has been forwarded to the CID Headquarters in Accra for further investigations.
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