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The driver and his mate assaulting the policeman
The driver and his mate assaulting the policeman

‘Trotro’ driver, mate arrested for assaulting policeman

A ‘trotro’ driver and his mate who were captured on video assaulting a policeman, Constable Julius Mawuli Ekpe, on the Mallam-Kasoa road in Accra have been arrested.

The video which has gone viral, shows two civilians attacking the policeman who was wearing a helmet, following a misunderstanding.

In the about six-second video, the policeman was seen receiving punches from the two young men close to a parked white Sprinter bus and a motorbike, while some Good Samaritans were seen frantically trying to separate them.

The driver, identified as Francis Buabeng, and his mate, Albert Ansah, who fled the scene and went into hiding, were arrested four days after the incident.

The suspects, who are in custody at the Odorkor District Police station, will appear before the Weija Court today on four counts of conspiracy to commit crime, assault of a public officer, causing damage to police accoutrement and obstruction.

Briefing

Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mrs Effia Tenge, said about 1:30 p.m. on March 14, 2019, Constable Ekpe, who is attached to the Accra Regional Visibility Unit, was on duty on the Mallam-Kasoa road when he saw a vehicle parked in the middle of the road close to the Weija Junction.

She said the Sprinter bus, with registration number GR 8555-14, had Buabeng in the driver’s seat, while the mate was loading the vehicle in the middle of the road, thereby obstructing other road users.

Mrs Tenge said when Constable Ekpe asked the driver to move the vehicle, he declined, resulting in a misunderstanding between them.

In the process, two accidents occurred. In the first, a vehicle crashed into another, while in the second a motorbike hit a private vehicle.

She said the driver of the Sprinter bus, sensing danger, drove off, while Constable Ekpe, who was riding a motorbike, gave him a chase and finally caught up with him at the Mallam traffic light intersection.
A scuffle then ensued between the policeman, on the one hand, and the driver and his mate, on the other.

The policeman is said to have called for reinforcement, but before it arrived, the driver and his mate abandoned their vehicle and fled, leaving the passengers in the vehicle to their fate.

Complaints

The vehicle was towed to the Odorkor Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), after which the policeman lodged a complaint against the driver at the Odorkor District Police Command.

Unknown to the Constable Ekpe, the driver and his mate had also filed a complaint with the Mallam Police, indicating that they had been assaulted by a policeman, after which they were issued with a medical form.

A day after the incident, Mrs Tenge said, the owner of the vehicle, whose name had been withheld, went to the Odorkor MTTD to claim the vehicle but was made to produce the driver and his mate.

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