A 32-year-old married woman from Gongnia in the Navrongo municipality, who is a victim of alleged rape, is yet to get justice as her suspected attacker has escaped from police custody.
The suspect, identified as Kwame Abass “presido”, was arrested by the police in Navrongo on 1 August 2022, but escaped from cells the same day under mysterious circumstances.
The police, who confirmed the escape, said that he got away as he was being led to a room for interrogation.
Three police officers have been given a 10-day ultimatum to produce the suspect. It has been 23 days since that ultimatum was given.
The victim and her family are disturbed about the development, fearing the suspect could sneak back into the community to attack them or neighbours who supported his arrest, reports Upper East regional correspondent Senyalah Castro.
“The guy (the alleged attacker) was arrested around 9am the morning after I went to the police station in Navrongo to report the issue,” said the husband of the victim (name withheld)
“Then around 4pm, the police CID called me and said the guy escaped. Now, we wonder why and how the guy escaped.”
Caesar Ananga, the assemblyman for the Gongnia Electoral Area, who has been at the forefront of investigations into the attack, described the news of the suspect’s escape as worrying, but said the victim’s family would press for justice regardless.
Anger among residents
The escape of the suspect is gradually building anger among residents of Navrongo who believe the victim may have paid his way out of the cells.
Some residents who spoke to Asaase News on grounds of anonymity, said it would be difficult for a suspect to escape from the station on the blindside of the police.
“The police station has a wall and gates. Even the main building where the police keep suspects is security tight. So, how can someone escape from there,” a resident said.
“The officers are always there and there’s no way a suspect can move out without someone seeing the suspect,” another person said. “Someone among the officers helped the suspect to run away and the police must make sure to punish those officers and also find the suspect wherever he is to face the law for what he has done.”
Meanwhile, the Navrongo municipal police commander, ASP Kingsley Kanda, in his latest response on the case said the three complicit officers are facing service enquiry.
He appealed for calm and urged the public to help the police with intel that can lead to the arrest of the suspect.
Senyalah Castro
Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online
99.5 in Accra, 101.5 in Bawku, 99.9 in Bimbilla, 100.3 in Cape Coast, 90.7 in Ho, 98.5 in Kumasi, 99.7 in Tamale, 89.5 in Tarkwa and 106.9 in Walewale
Join the conversation. Call: 020 000 9951 or 059 415 7777. Or WhatsApp: 020 000 0995.
#AsaaseRadio
#TheVoiceofOurLand
