The Ashanti Regional Police Command has assured residents that Kumasi is safe despite a series of robberies recorded in the metropolis over the past few weeks.
Speaking to Joy FM, Godwin Ahianyo, the police public relations officer for the Ashanti Regional Police Command, debunked reports suggesting that lately the region has been recording robbery incidents virtually every day.
Normal activities
‘‘Let me just assure the general public that Kumasi is safe,’’ Ahianyo said. “We just recorded isolated cases. It is not that Kumasi is unsafe [or] ungovernable, or there is insecurity in the region.
‘‘As I’m speaking to you now, I’m around Adiebeba heading towards Ahodwo. People are going about their normal activities without any fear whatsoever. So I’m just assuring everybody that Kumasi is safe.’’
Ahianyo refuted claims suggesting that the killing of a 36-year-old man at Atonsu in the Asokwa Municipality had been related to a robbery.
‘‘Kumasi as is being reported is not as it is. Yes, we have recorded some incidents, but it’s not alarming as being reported out there,’’ he insisted.
Update on Chinese national
The police public relations officer also announced that the service has made some progress in tracking down armed robbers who shot a Chinese national on Tuesday.
Ting Tiant, 42, was shot by unknown men on a motorbike as he engaged in a mobile money transaction.
‘‘I can also tell you that for the past hours, the command has picked some leads, and very soon we [will be] on the heels of the criminals, because we have gotten the motorbike that they used.
“We have gotten some footage and we are working on [it],’’ he added.
Highway robbers
In the past few months, Ghana has suffered a string of violent robberies, raising fears about the state of national security.
In July a Seventh-Day Adventist church in Kumasi was robbed. A pastor was shot dead at Kokoben, also in Kumasi. And a young mobile money vendor was killed in similar circumstances at Onwe, close to Ejisu in the Ashanti Region.
About three weeks ago, highway robbers attacked a bullion van in Manso, killing a cashier in the process.
Another incident of the same kind occurred two weeks ago when the Ashanti regional director of the Electoral Commission (EC), Benjamin Bannor Bio, was attacked on the highway between Anwiankwanta and Obuasi and robbed at gunpoint.
And last month, highway robbers shot into a VIP bus and other vehicles, leaving one person with an eye injury.
Fred Dzakpata
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