Family of late Lance Corporal Robert Ackah, the policeman who was accidentally killed on the Tamale – Kintampo expressway recently, is demanding from government the same treatment and financial support that has been given to the family of the late Major Maxwell Mahama who was lynched by a mob in Denkyira Obuasi.
According to the family, their son also died in the line of duty just as Major Mahama and hence needs to be acknowledged and his wife and child catered for by the state same as has been done for the family of the late soldier.
Senior Police officers accompanied by junior personnel in the Northern regional command on Friday June 9, 2017, donated an amount of GH5, 000 to the wife and child of the late police officer who was shot dead by police patrol team in a case of mistaken identity.
An insurer, Unique insurance company in the regional capital, Tamale, also donated same amount to the widow making GH¢10,000 for the tragedy that befell the family and the police service.
But in the case of Major Mahama, government has set up a Trust Fund with a seed capital of GHC 500,000 to take care of his widow and two children. President Akufo Addo also donated an amount of 50,000 which he described as ‘modest’.
However, the family of late Lance Corporal Robert Ackah is of the view that the wife and child of their dead son have been unfaily treated, urging the government to show interest in their dealings including the funeral just as was done in the case of Major Mahama.
“Both our son (late Lance Corporal Robert Ackah) and Major Mahama were young men who dedicated their lives to serving this country at the peril of their lives. While Major Mahama was lynched, our son was shot dead by his own colleagues (Police Patrol team) so I don’t see any difference in their deaths.
What is good for the family of Major Mahama is good for Lance Corporal Ackah. We saw and read in the media, the sort of attention that government gave to Major Mahama’s family. But it appears we’ve been ignored by the government as not official has said a word to us since the unfortunate death of our son who was the breadwinner,” Tufohene Bentum, an Uncle of the deceased policeman said in an interview.
Background
Lance Corporal Robert Ackah was escorting travelers from Tamale to the southern sector when his colleagues mistook him as an armed robber and fired at him to death.
The bus he was escorting was notified of an ongoing armed robbery attack on the highway and so the police officer was high on alert.
Midway into the journey, Corporal Ackah allegedly alighted from the bus and begun firing in the air and proceeded to mount a chase at the fleeing robbers.
While he was still at the scene of the attack, a police patrol team from the Brong Ahafo region who had also heard of the attack and was rushing to pursue the robbers gunned him down after seeing him at the scene with an Ak47 riffle.
He was, however, identified as a police officer when his Identification Card (ID) was found on him by the killers.
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