Sherif Imoro, 21, has been identified as the soldier who was allegedly killed by a mob in Ashaiman Taifa last Saturday. He was a trumpeter in the Ghana Armed Forces Band and was stationed at Sunyani in the Bono Region.
He was in Accra for a military course and had been visiting his parents in Ashaiman every Friday for the past three weeks. Last Friday would have been the third time he was returning home when he was confronted by a gang that killed him.
According to his father, Awudu Imoro, Sherif Imoro was born on June 3, 2001, in Ashaiman. He joined the Ghana Armed Forces in October 2021 and trained at Daboya before being assigned to Sunyani after graduation.
According to his father, he attended Ashaiman for primary and junior high school, and Akwamuman SHS for senior high school, where he graduated in 2017.
The Incident
He was on his way home last Friday when there was heavy traffic in the area, so he alighted at Ashaiman Taifa near the court building.
It was in that area that he was killed by his assailants. According to some reports, the gang mistook him for a robber.
Father’s Narrative
Awudu Imoro, the father, explained the circumstances and provided a brief background on his son, saying that in early January this year, Sherif called his mother and informed the family that he would be in Accra in the first week of February for a course.
According to the father, Sherif told them that when he arrived in Accra, he would have the opportunity to visit them in the house on a Friday, and so he had been coming home every Friday for the last three weeks.
More than 180 people were arrested and detained by soldiers who stormed Ashaiman early Tuesday morning after a mob allegedly killed Sherif Imoro.
According to Ernest Henry Norgbey, Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, the soldiers have taken the people they arrested away. “72 people, according to the briefing given to me by the Assembly member for the area,” the soldiers have taken into custody.
“But as I speak to you, the police commander just told me that 72 people is an understatement and that they are more than that, they [soldiers] are still arresting people when you go certain areas of the community,” Mr. Norgbey said in a Citi fm radio interview.
The MP stated that the soldiers had left the area after the dawn operation, but around midday, he received a phone call informing him that another batch of military men had trooped into the Ashaiman constituency.
“I spoke with the police commander, and he told me on authority that the military guys were still in the constituency, molesting innocent residents all over the constituency,” he said.
He said the constituents were worried about the modus operandi of the military, “because you see armored cars, you see military vehicles, you see helicopters, which means that this thing has been sanctioned by the higher authority and so everybody is handicapped in this matter.
“So we’re just asking them to return their men to the barracks because these people they’re molesting are innocent people, and I’m not sure they know anything about the military guy’s death,” the MP said.
The Taifa neighborhood of Ashaiman was placed under self-imposed curfew on Tuesday morning after some soldiers reportedly stormed the area following the alleged killing of a soldier over the weekend. Following the incident, photos and videos of the said soldier were shared on social media.
According to some reports, he was attacked and stabbed by a gang. According to reports, the soldier was on his way home to his family.
Soldiers Reaction
On Tuesday morning (March 7, 2023), at least 20 alleged soldiers stormed the area. They questioned everyone they saw and allegedly beat them up. People were forced to lock themselves in their homes for fear of being beaten up by soldiers.
Some eyewitnesses have shared their stories on social media.
Some claim to have seen the soldiers around 2 a.m.
One person stated that he awoke around 4 a.m. to find that the area, which is normally very busy at that time with many shops open, was still very quiet. He assumed it was due to the rain, but when he stepped outside, he saw soldiers on the stretch and no vehicles moving.
When he saw soldiers approaching, he dashed back into the house and locked the gate. He claimed that his brother later told him that he awoke earlier and seen soldiers beating up other people.
“My mother owns a roadside shop that should have been open by now, but as we speak, all shops are still closed,” he explained. He stated that he witnessed vehicles passing by being stopped, male passengers, being dragged out and beaten up, and that “you people kill our colleague,” according to some of the soldiers.
Another eyewitness said, the soldiers knocked on doors and slapped anyone who came out.
According to reports, the Assemblyman for the area sent out a message advising residents to avoid certain routes. He claimed to have counted at least 20 armed soldiers on foot patrolling the streets.
The mob killing
The mob killing of the soldier elicited a range of reactions over the weekend. According to some, the young soldier was on his way home when he was attacked by a gang. Some claimed he was stabbed to death by the mob after paying a visit to his girlfriend.
Photos from the scene showed the victim’s lifeless body, which appeared to be dressed in torn military camouflage trousers.
His face had been covered by his military cap and a white cloth. His bag, which was in military camouflage colors, was also close to his body.
The Ghana Police Department has yet to respond.
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