A family, supported by other residents and a youth group in Keta in the Volta Region, is requesting the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a resident, Jerry Kpesenu. It is reported that Jerry Kpesenu died while in the custody of the Keta police after being arrested.
The group alleges that the deceased was manhandled and murdered because he did not comply with the demands of the police. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, June 10, the spokesperson of the youth group, Forceman Doe William, said “Our immediate demand is that we are calling on the IGP to immediately as a matter of emergency interdict, I repeat and I quote interdict the officers.
“Set up a five-member committee to include an appointed member from the deceased’s family and another from the Keta youth, and we request an independent autopsy in a highly professional pathology centre in Ghana at the cost of the police,” he said. Mr William argued that had the police invited the deceased to the police station in a professional manner, he would still be alive.
According to a report by the Daily Graphic, on June 6, the deceased stopped his tenant from installing an air conditioner in his rented room, insisting the tenant needed his permission to do so. This led to a bitter exchange between them, and the tenant subsequently reported the matter to the police.
The family spokesman said two policemen, one in uniform and the other plain-clothed, turned up at his house and started beating him before dragging him to the Keta Divisional Police Command, where he reportedly died from the torture inflicted on him. However, the police insist that the 45-year-old man fell ill while in custody and was rushed to the Keta Municipal Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Press statement below..
