Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Volta Region (Volta Caucus) have expressed indignation at the way and manner the Assembly Member for the Sogakope South Electoral Area, Marcus Adzahli Mawutor was murdered on March 1 2020.
Their indignation further goes into circumstances coming after his gruesome murder. This include, what they perceived as the inability of Parliament to allow a statement on the murder read on the floor of the House, despite frantic efforts by the MP for the area, Kobena Woyome to have had the statement read.
According to them, even though the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Aaron Mike Oquaye had admitted the statement to be read two days earlier, it was rejected on the eleventh hour for alleged controversies associated with the statement.
Apparently unhappy with these developments, and wanting their voice heard at all cost on these matters, the Caucus arranged a press conference with the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) where they expressed these concerns.
All these notwithstanding, they have called on the Minister of Interior, the IGP, Minister for National Security to conduct snift investigations into this matter, and also help improve general security of the area, which has been at the receiving end of armed-robber, murder and lawlessness of late.
According to the MPs, a narration by the elder sister of the late Assemblyman Selorm Adzahli has it that around 10:00pm the previous day, Mawuli returned home and watched videos on his phone for a few minutes outside, before entering his room to sleep. Then around mid-night, she heard gun shots and the pestering of stones in the compound, with the gunshots intensifying as the perpetrators scaled over the wall into the compound.
Selorm maintains that at this time his brother could see that his life was at state and started crying for help from neighbours but to no avail because of the incessant shooting in the compound.
Also, his brother made distress call to the Police Commander for help but was told that the only police van was on patrol a mile away. Selorm says, in the ensuring chaos, she came out to plead with the attackers but was ordered to go into her room or get shot. The report says, she sneaked through the back door to shout for help from neighbors, but because of the shooting, nobody came out to their aid.
Then the brother’s wife came out to plead with the attackers with an amount of GH¢30,000 but they rejected and insisted on seeing the husband since they had not come there for their money.
Finally around 1:am when his brother came out, his attackers shot and killed him in cold blood, took the GH¢30,000 and some unspecified amount of money in their safe and bolted.
Also the brother’s wife was injured in the course. Then around 6:00am the police came around, took the injured woman to hospital and her brother’s body to the morgue.
The situation led to riots by the youth who charged on the police thus bringing about general break-down of the law and order in the area for sometime before order could be restored by the military.
The caucus observed that there was general break down of security in the area, and that has been the trend all over. Also, police personnel, besides other small numbers were not adequately resourced to operate effectively.
It was against this background that they were appealing to government to have the police well-resourced and also their numbers increased to enable them fight crime, in the area, since it has been on the ascendery in the area.
They maintained that following this incident, certain personality and institutions had pledged cash awards for informants on this murder. They include former President J.J Rawlings (GH¢25,000) South Tongu District Assembly (GH¢10,000) Volta MPs (GH¢15,000) and the MP for the Area, Kobina Woyome (GH¢5,000).
Source: S.O Ankamah