A military capo who spoke to Kumasi-based Abusua Fm on grounds of strict anonymity has revealed that the murder of Captain Maxwell Mahama of the 5th Infantry Battalion (5BN) was all planned by his assailants taking into account the chronology of events.
“Denkyira-Boase and Diaso will never know peace. We are not going to attack them but God in his own way will atone for the death of this soldier who was killed by the very people he went to protect. You can see that his lynching was well planned”, he disclosed.
According to him, the death of a soldier is no news when they die on battlefield but when a military officer is killed in the manner Captain Maxwell Mahama who was killed in his home country at a town he went to protect its folks, it makes the situation very annoying.
“We won’t fight them back because if we want to fight they cannot fight us. They have not only killed a soldier but they have killed the spirit of a soldier.
They accuse us of beating residents and not beating Chinese nationals engaging in galamsey and in revolt killed one of us like a fowl. Captain Mahama was a good man he could have killed dozens of them with the weapon he had if he chose to when he realized his life was under threat in self-defense”, he stated.
He disclosed that Captain Maxwell Mahama is a battle-tested soldier who is trained to kill but chose the country over galamsey indicating that the life of a soldier must be respected.
While expressing worry over the manner in which he was killed and humiliated by being stripped naked and burnt, he disclosed that military officers across the country are not happy over the incident.
Source: mynewsgh.com
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IS ‘MOB ACTION’ OR ‘INSTANT JUSTICE’ JUSTIFIED? Have you ever supported “Instant Justice?” Why or Why not? I was indifferent with regard to it being right or wrong. If one has ever been robbed at a gunpoint before, his answer may be in the affirmative. The pain and trauma armed robbery victims have to bear is unexplainable. The sleepless nights and ‘fear of next attack’. Robbers once broke into our car in our residence at about 2.20am and made away with a few items leaving, in its wake, a damaged vehicle. For about six months, after that robbery, sleeping became difficult for my wife. She was an eyewitness to the robbery and so any little noise she heard during the night disturbed her sleep. This, inevitably, affected her health. Three weeks before this robbery, our dog had been killed painfully through food poisoning. Prior to that, my office had been ransacked by robbers who managed to take my office keys from a drunken watchman. They took away my money safe with its content, a brand-new desktop computer, a digital radio set and other office items. A few years ago I was driving in a traffic jammed (bumper-to-bumper) area-between Kejetia Lorry Terminus and Kumasi Zoological Garden. Two young men of between 18 and 21 years approached the car. One of them was on the right side of the vehicle and the other on the left. The one on the left side (close to me) knocked on the driver’s door and told me that someone in the crowd was calling me. Before I could reason (in less than no time), the other one on the right side of the vehicle had picked my mobile phone from the front passenger seat and they fled with it. I saw them with my two eyes (feely- feely) but I was helpless. I drew the attention of a military officer standing by to the robbery but he decided not to act. About four years ago (2013), two agents clearing my 4 cars from Tema Port absconded with my money: GH¢ 80,000.00 (Eighty thousand Ghana cedis). There was every indication to show that they wanted to kill me in addition to running away with my money. With these few instances and others space and time will not permit me to write about, one will be tempted to support those who perpetuate ‘Instant Justice’. I took a firm stance on ‘Instance Justice’ when I came face-to-face with a situation that required ‘Instance Justice or mob action’ against me. My vehicle had developed a fault and I had sent it to a mechanic shop for it to be fixed. I needed to make an enquiry at a photo laboratory at Adum (Central Business District of Kumasi). I requested for a friend’s car from Asafo and I drove it to the place. On reaching the place, I parked the friend’s car in front of the UTC Supermarket and I went to the photo lab. When I returned, I went straight to a car and opened the door with my friend’s car key. I tried severally to start the car but the engine was not kicking. I came out of the car and reentered it for about three times. I could not fathom what was wrong with the car. Finally, I decided to lock the doors of the car and call my friend (the owner of the car) to inform him about what has happened and arrange for help. Surprisingly, the key that I used to open the door could not lock it. I became bamboozled and did not know what to do. In all these puzzlements, no one asked me anything. In my bewilderment, I was standing by the car and I was looking around. I cast my eyes (3 cars away) and I realized that the car I had tried, on countless occasions, to start and drive away was not my friend’s car (the one I went with). My friend’s car was, rather, parked a few meters away from the one I was doing ‘calisthenics’ with. The two cars were of the same colour and similar in appearance but they were not the same make (model). I heaved a sigh of relief and I told a guy who was selling in front of the UTC Shop of what had just happened to me. I indicated to him that the door of the mistaken car could not be locked and that he should inform the owner about it. I suggested to him that I could have been lynched if someone had ‘blown an alarm’ suggesting that I was trying to steal the car. A little pronouncement of ***barred word***!, ***barred word***!!, ***barred word***!!! Or ‘kronfuo!, kronfuo!!, kronfuo!!!’ or ‘awi oo!, awi oo!!, awi oo!!!’ by anyone at the scene at the time of my perplexity could have done the trick and I would have been lynched to death. I drove peacefully to deliver the car to my friend and told him about my woes. Their action (if they had lynched me), based on their guess, could have received applauds from proponents of ‘mob action’ or ‘instant justice’ but I was innocent. I had no ill motive about what happened. I had no intention to steal and I did not steal from the car. The questions are; if I had been lynched, would they have been right? Had I done anything untoward? Was my motive wrong? Could they have heard my side of the story after my death? What would have happened to my mother, wife and little children, not to mention the numerous people who were depending on me, at that time, for their daily bread? I was just saved by the grace of God. I sailed through this episode safe and sound not because I was not seen by anyone. Even though it is very painful to be cheated or robbed, taking the law into our own hands is not the way to go. Wherever and whenever applicable, let’s gather courage to capture and/or detain and handover people we suspect to be criminals to right quarters for interrogation and appropriate sanctions. Whenever possible, let’s call and/or support the police immediately to handle the situation. A criminal or supposed criminal should only be pronounced so by the application of the law. Instance Justice, most often than not, causes more harm than good. It can therefore not be justified. It’s rather unjust and so it is ‘Instant Injustice’. It’s high time we changed, as a people, from this phenomenon of mob action.
the life of this brilliant young man has been sacrificed for the wealth of some greedy politicians who want all the money in this world so promote galamsey to build mansions, filling stations and school their wards abroad.I have been so sad all week. God help Ghana and our descendants.
Galamsey money is in politics ,businesses etc & this young man departed soul & God will expose every politician who have benefited from galamsey money. As for the town they should erect his figure to remind them of the evil deeds they have caused his little children.
The Army should go to that village and respond accordingly to teach those barbarik inhabitants some sense. Drill them well well and those who pass out pass out.
I,m very much disappointed of this incident,even if they thought he was a robber they have no right to take the right of him.
@ Emmet. I share your sentiments completely. Democracy is the least bad form of governance but is it good for us? These animals should not be left off the hook. The soldiers should have been allowed to enter that hovel of lunatics and made sure they will not touch another human being again.You see how these acts of barbarism are spiralling all over the country? In Somanya people think their electricity bills are high so they vandalise the ECG office ,attack the police station, and burn their only vehicle. Is Somanya an enclave the ECG has carved up where they are charging more for electricity than in any other community?The ECG should make sure those bastards live in darkness for at least a month .That should teach them to act like human beings.
It will pain me papapapap if the military fail to put the fear of God in the people few days ahead. They should take the inhabitants hostage one night and discipline everybody they see and torch some houses.The reason is that this is the right time to purge the notoriety that the town folks have gained over time.
very sad day for captain mahama may your soul rest in peace if like I have my own way I would have collapse the village and hang those involved in public,and as for the Assembly man he will be stone to death
PLEASE STOP POLITICIZING THE WHOLE ISSUE. LET'S BE SERIOUS FOR ONCE.
With much tears I make my comment. I've seen innocent people lynched to death since I was a child. Some appeared in the newspapers, others on tv but nothing was done to the perpetrators of the crime. I've seen civilians lynching civilians/ the police and military men in mufti mistaken for criminals. I've seen military and police men brutalizing civilians and some have died in the process. What lessons are we learning from this as a nation? Should this continue to happen to innocent people of the land? It is Captain Mahama's turn today. It could be you, your close relation, friends and loved ones or any one of us another town. We all can be mistaken for robbers or criminals on a strange land. Instant justice or injustice must be stopped immediately and the culprits must be prosecuted.