Police have revealed that Albert Donkor, the deceased at the centre of a row between family and the law enforcement department was indeed an armed robber.
Parents of the deceased have been briefed by the police at the end of investigations which was embarked upon at the height of brouhaha over whether or not the deceased was innocent of the allegation of robbery levelled against him.
The revelation was contained in a statement which traced the origin of the robbery to the point of autopsy and the telltale evidence indicating that indeed Albert Donkor was part of a robbery gang which exchanged fire with the law enforcement personnel dispatched to the robbery scene in Nkoranza.
According to the police report, law enforcement personnel on April 14, 2023 met with the families of Victor Owusu, who died in a rioting incident in Nkoranza and a deceased robbery suspect Albert Donkor, to give them an update of police investigation into the occurrences of April 25, 2022 that led to the death of the two.
In narrating the story which led to the death of Albert Donkor, the police report has it that at about 12:35 am on April 25, 2022, the Nkoranza Police received a distress call from a passenger on board a Pragia suggesting that some armed men had blocked the Nkoranza-Jema highway and dispossessing passengers of their belongings.
The Nkoranza District patrol team, on board Service Vehicle No GP 226, the report went on, “was dispatched to the robbery scene and arrived at the scene around 1:00am.”
The robbers opened fire at the police, who returned fire in the course of which a Police Service vehicle was damaged, the statement explained.
The robbers, the report went on, “fled the scene into a nearby bush and were pursued by the police team.”
A subsequent search in the bush led to the discovery of BB cartridges and some mobile phones that were retrieved as exhibits in the investigation.
At the scene of the robbery, police identified the victims and escorted them to the police station to assist in the investigation.
The police put it out categorically that “analysis of the deceased Call Data Records [CDR] established that the deceased was at the scene of robbery on April 25, 2022.”
One of the victims of the robbery, the police stated, also identified the deceased at the Nkoranza Police Station as one of the robbers who attacked them.
The deceased had also admitted to the robbery after he was identified by one of the victims, the police said.
Forensic Investigation
Forensic investigation, according to the police established that the ITEL mobile phone retrieved at the robbery scene belonged to the deceased.
An examination of the ITEL W6004 A56 mobile phone, according to the police revealed the following;
- A picture of the deceased’s Voters’ ID card.
- A picture of a Rugger pistol with serial number 310-23294 taken by the deceased himself with the weapon in his hands taken at 1:23am on August 15, 2021.
The forensic analysis [DNA] of the grey-like hoodie retrieved in the course of the investigation has confirmed that the hoodie belonged to the deceased.
The deceased, according to the police, led them to the hideout of his accomplices where they came under fire.
The deceased was found with gunshot wounds and was rushed to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead on arrival.
PPSB Investigation
Investigation by the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) into the incident revealed that despite the suspect’s involvement in the robbery, on hindsight, if the police officers who took the deceased to the hideout of his accomplices had acted a little more professionally, they might have been better able to protect him from the gunshots that led to his death.
The Attorney General, after a study of the case docket, has advised that police intensify their effort in apprehending the deceased’s accomplices to face justice.
Attack on Nkoranza Police
It will be recalled that when news of the death of Albert Donkor was announced to the family, some youth of Nkoranza, numbering about 400, armed with stones, clubs and other offensive implements, converged on the road in front of the Nkoranza District Police Headquarters on May 17, 2022 and started burning lorry tyres and wood on the road and also blocked movement of traffic and pedestrians, the police stated.
The mob forcibly entered the charge office, broke into the cells and freed all the suspects in custody.
During the course of the protest, they also caused damage to the following;
- Police Service Vehicle No.GP 3325 belonging to Nkoranza District Police
- The Divisional Headquarters building
- A VW Touareg with registration number GE1071-11 belonging to the District Commander
- One KIA SPORTAGE with registration number GW 7895V belonging to D/C/Inspector Frederick Appiah Korang
- One exhibit TICO Taxi cab
- One exhibit motor bike and LG Television
The mob also made away with two mobile phones and an unspecified amount of money from the charge office.
A police reinforcement team responded to the incident and successfully restored law, order and security.
On the same day, eight of the irate mob, namely Stephen Baffoe, Augustine Duodu, Eric Appiah, Iddrisu Ishmael, Rockson Donyina, Philemon Yaw, Raymond Agyei and Victor Kwadwo Owusu who sustained injuries were sent to St. Theresa’s Hospital, Nkoranza for treatment.
Unfortunately, one of the eight suspects, Victor Kwadwo Owusu was pronounced dead at the hospital. The body of the deceased was deposited at the same hospital morgue for autopsy.
Police therefore initiated investigations and necessary arrangements were made with his family for the post-mortem to be conducted.
The family were given the option to either get an independent pathologist to conduct the autopsy or for the autopsy to be conducted by the police, and they agreed for the police to conduct the autopsy.
On June 6, 2022, the autopsy was conducted by a police pathologist in the presence of the father of the deceased, Mr. James Boamah and the investigator. The pathologist gave the verbal cause of death as severe head injury, fall and brain tumor. The pathologist again informed the family of the option to get a second opinion on the matter if they so wished.
Post-Mortem Report
On June 23, 2022, a copy of the written post-mortem report together with a copy of the coroner’s form were handed over to the deceased family.
However, the family expressed dissatisfaction at the outcome of the post-mortem examination and requested for a second opinion.
On November 27, 2022, the body was conveyed to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for re-examination and on November 30, 2022, the deceased’s body was re-examined by an independent pathologist at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
Police are yet to receive a copy of that post-mortem report.
The body has since been released to the family for burial.
The key finding of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Victor Owusu is that he died as a result of a head injury, fall and brain tumor and not as a result of a gunshot.
By A.R. Gomda