The father of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Senior High School (KNUST SHS) student who died on Tuesday 7 July after complaining of abdominal pain has blamed his son’s death on the poor food served to students at the school.
Edwin Sam, who said he was devastated by the loss of his son Leonard Sam, a final-year student at KNUST SHS, denied media reports that his son had died of COVID-19.
Narrating how he got to know about his son’s condition, an emotionally charged Edwin Sam said he was away in town attending to some business when his wife (the mother of the deceased) called to inform him that the school officials had made contact with her about their son.
She asked Edwin Sam to go to the school as quickly as he could.
Eldest son
“Immediately I saw him, I was devastated. My son was helpless. So, what else could I have done? They [the teachers] told one of the guys to go and bring a taxi. So a taxi came and I helped my son to the back seat. So we just left and first came to City Hospital.
“At the City Hospital they had to refer us to the Manhyia Hospital. On reaching there, they gave him some drips and painkillers. He was still complaining of abdominal pain,’’ Sam told Kojo Mensah, host of the Asaase Breakfast Show, on Thursday.
He added: “It is not COVID-19 that killed my son. It is abdominal pains, the stomach, because the food that is being served in the school is rubbish. The food was not good, so he was running at a point in time.
“I’m short of words. I don’t want to talk too much, I’m already stressed up. My world has almost come to an end, because Leonard was my first son.”
Condemnation
Meanwhile, the National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations of Ghana has extended its condolences to the family of the dead teenager. The national president of the Council, Apostle Alexander Yaw Danso, also speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show, said the Council is monitoring the situation and will issue a statement by the close of week.
The death of Leonard Sam has sparked widespread condemnation from members of the public in response to the poor manner in which the school officials have handled the matter. The students at KNUST SHS mounted a protest after the death of their colleague and called for justice to be done.
The Ghana Education Service has since launched an investigation into the matter and interdicted the headmistress of the school, Felicia Asamoah Dankwaa. The regional director of education, Mary Owusu-Achiaw, has been asked to take oversight responsibility for the running of the school.
Asaase Radio / Kennedy Mornah
#AsaaseRadio
