POLICE SHOOT GALAMSEY OPERATOR (Page 20)

Story: Nana Konadu Agyeman, Nkawkaw

A 25-year-old galamsey miner who allegedly attempted to attack policemen detailed to arrest him for threatening to kill his mother and set their family house ablaze at Amoa, a village near Nkawkaw, sustained injuries when the police fired at him.
The suspect, Aziz Kwame Asante, is currently on admission at the Koforidua Central Hospital receiving treatment under police guard.
Asante was said to have chased his 72-year-old mother, Afia Manu, a farmer, out of their house at Amoa with a machete, and attempted to attack the police with the weapon after he had refused to hand it over to the police when ordered to do so.
Asante, brandishing the machete, rather advanced towards the peace officers, compelling them to fire at his knees.
Briefing the Daily Graphic at Nkawkaw on Wednesday, the Nkawkaw Police District Commander, DSP Thomas Osei, said on January 6, this year, at about 11.30 am, Afia Manu reported to the Amoanapraso Police Station, near Nkawkaw, that her son, Asante, who had threatened to kill her and set their house ablaze, had chased her out of the house with a machete.
DSP Osei said Afia Manu led two policemen, armed with AK47, to the house and met Asante wielding a machete but when he was ordered to drop it, he refused and rather advanced towards them after a warning shot had been fired.
According to the District Police Commander, the peace officers had no other option than to fire at his knees, causing him to fall down before being arrested.
He said Asante sustained injuries and was first sent to the Holy Family Hospital, Nkawkaw, and later transferred to the Koforidua Central Hospital for further treatment.
DSP Osei said in his caution statement, Asante told the police that he had over the years been having dreams in which the mother had been flirting with him, a situation he blamed to be the cause of his inability to get married.
According to the suspect, on January 5, this year, he once again had the dream and while he was pondering over what could be the cause of the dreams, the mother approached him and gave him GH¢1 but he refused to accept it because the mother had never offered him anything like that before.
The District Police Commander said Asante then left the family house to collect two tubers of yam to cook at a friend’s house.
While the yam was on fire, DSP Osei said, the mother rushed to Sammy’s house and attempted to carry the boiling food away but was prevented from doing so by Sammy after which the mother left for her house.
The District Police Commander stated that Asante then told the mother that she had no right to eject him from his late father’s house and threatened to kill her and set the house ablaze.
True to this words, Asante set fire to an oiled rug and attempted to burn the building but the mother used a machete to put out the fire.
Out of anger, the suspect took the machete away from the mother and pushed her to the ground following which a co-tenant, one Yaa Marian, raised an alarm for which other neighbours came to Afia’s rescue and the incident reported to the police.
DSP Osei said when two armed policemen were dispatched to accompany the mother to the house to arrest the suspect, he advanced towards the police officers with a sharpened machete.
He stated that the police fired a warning shot to compel the culprit to surrender the machete but he rather advanced menacingly towards the peace officers wielding the machete, compelling the police to fire at him.