The Ashanti Region Police Command has mounted a manhunt for one John Appiah popularly known as Omega for his notorious activities in the region.

According to the police, the 22-year-old Senior High School graduate is known for organizing and leading criminal activities leaving fatal casualties in its wake.

Notable crimes Omega is reported to have committed include the attack on a bullion van at Asokwa Junction in the Adansi Fomena District in January 2021. Where the robbery led to the death of Lance Corporal Martin Babah, the police officer escorting the van, making away with an amount to the tune of ₵500, 000.

22-year-old wanted by the Police for spearheading attacks in Ashanti and Eastern regions
The most recent one was the ambulance attack which occurred on Thursday, January 4, 2021 at the Somanya- Adukrom highway leading to the death of the ambulance driver, Abraham Tetteh.

Addressing the press on Monday, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, COP Akwasi Mensah Duku indicated that the bad-tempered criminal is still at large despite methodologies employed by the security service to arrest him.

“Intelligence has it that Omega is a very violent person and trigger happy and ready to kill his victim at the least provocation.

“He has also recruited other criminal gangs in other parts of the country and calls on them to indulge in escapades when the need arises,” he told the media.The Commander has appealed to all Ghanaians to be on the lookout for
him.

Moreso, the Ashanti Regional Police Command has arrested five (5) suspected armed robbers in connection with the robbery of a bullion van from the Dunkwa On-Offin branch to New Edubiase road Branch of the Ghana Commercial Bank in the Ashanti Region.

The arrested suspected robbers are Bismark Owusu Ansah alias Obese 29yrs, Azuma Titus 23yrs, Kofi Mathew alias Wiser 24yrs, Kwadwo Agyapong alias Labista 30yrs and Martin Tei alias Kwadwo Darko 26yrs

The Ashanti Regional Police Commander COP Kwasi Mensah Duku in a press briefing said the robbers who attacked and robbed GCB Bank Bullion Van and killed one police officer were 10 and 5 of them have been arrested by the police at their various hideouts at Techiman in the Bono East region, Kumasi and Kasoa in the Central Region.

According to COP Kwasi Mensah Duku, an amount of GCH53,934, Toyota corolla Saloon car, 1 tricycle and 2 motorbikes were retrieved from the suspects after arrested by the police at the hideouts.

COP Kwasi Mensah explained that other items suspected to have been bought from the money they stole from the bullion van were retrieved from the robber for evidential purpose adding that the five (5) suspects during interrogation have admitted offense.

“Mathew alias Wiser 24yrs and Martin Tei alias Kwadwo Darko 26yrs are already on the wanted list of Bono Eat Region for their involvement robbery of a bullion van in Techniman” COP Duku revealed.

Source: richnews.com

Dazed by revelations of his pro-opposition acts that cost the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) unprecedented number of votes in the December 07, 2020 general elections, district chief executive (DCE) for Sekyere Kumawu in Ashanti region of Ghana, Samuel Addai Agyekum, has further irritated the good people of the NPP stronghold with his trumpeting of nonexistent completed projects.

With 95% of the assembly’s share of the District Assembly Common Fund going to the office of the DCE, the discerning masses in the district feel disappointed by the eyesore state of the principal streets of the district capital, Kumawu, the historic Bodomase market, the armed robbers threatened traders, and the various electoral areas that have kept faith with the NPP from time immemorial.

“So can’t the media houses hosting him to trumpet lies come and see the reality on the ground? So who awarded this disloyal DCE as we saw in a newspaper? My goodness! What do you want to tell an over sixty-year market woman who was raped on the road by an armed robber whereas DCE Agyekum dismisses our heartbreaking accounts?

Why do we have an enemy within this DCE? What have we done to deserve these, Nana Addo? Please, put your eyes and ears on the ground before the district deteriorates? Journalists, come again on Friday to see the plight of market women who have rallied behind the NPP candidates to retain power,” dejected traders to the media Sunday afternoon.

Source: richnews.com

The residents of Bouho Wioso in Afigya Kwabre south district of Ashanti region has voice out with an anger and said their member of parliament hon. William Owuraku Aidoo has disappointed them with fake promised during his 2020 campaign.

According to the aggrieved residents the former energy minister in-charge of electricity and member of parliament promised them with grading and tiling their roads since it’s affecting their business.

The aggrieved residents expressed disheartening over their DCE on how he’s exercising bossy power over them and called the president to remove him as DCE.

In an interview said, the mp also promised them in 2020 campaign that they vote for him within 6 months he will fixed the deplorable roads and life threatening bridges for them. After they voted massively for him he has not even say hi or visited them .

They also cautioned their member of Parliament Hon Owuraku Aidoo, not to step his foot in the place again to collect the query money else the will stone him alive since he has betrayed them.

The aggrieved citizens urge president Nana Addo to talked to his law maker Hon Owuraku Aidoo if not they will vote against him Nana Addo and Owuraku coming 2024 since he is bringing the party NPP down.

Meanwhile the Assembly man at the area Hon.Edward Amankwa has said, he bring on whoever is concerned to put some measures in place to deal with the situation.

Source richnews.com

Chiefs and residents of Tontokrom in the Amansie south district of the Ashanti region have demonstrated against armed robbery attacks due to bad nature of their road that connect to Datano.

The caretaker chief and the entire citizens of Manso Tontokrom in Amansie south district has expressed their displeasure of how the fully armed rubbers are terrorizing their lives day in and day out within 2 weeks.
Nana Donkoh Francis in a press conference urged Nana Addo Dankwah Akuffo Addo to bring back the military personnel who were previously protecting the since there’s no police station in the area.

He said,after 2 weeks since the government widraw the military personnel from the district, armed rubbers has rubbed the community, Traders and passengers for 3 continues time.
Nana Donkoh Francis attributes some of the robbery case to their poor roads network, hence “if our roads are tiled armed rubbers cannot mount any burrier to collect traders and passengers money.

Cladded in red around their heads with serious chants, the crying residents and their acting chiefs expressed worried over how their people have been losing their lives due to bad roads.
According to the disappointed residents armed robbers take an advantage of their bad roads to attack their innocent people in a daylight robbery.

One of the acting chiefs of the town, Nana Francis Donkor speaking to journalists said the situation is getting out of hand as these armed robbers attack innocent traders and drivers at least every three days.

He revealed that these robbers usually set their traps in Akotokorem, a very worst place on the road where there’s no service too, and the robbery.
He cried out that the residents were saved when soldiers came to provide security in the area. But the situation, however is getting worse after the president ordered these military men to vacate the place about some weeks ago.

Nana Francis also cried over how a police station that was put up by the effort of the townfolks had been abandoned for years without any government official trying to officially post police personnel to the area.

Another caretaker chief Nana Onyina Owusu Prempeh complaint bitterly over a bridge on the road that has become a death trap and robbery joint. He said the bridge which witnessed a shabby work by a contractor has even become worse, after the contractor left it in limbo.

He calls on the president to as a matter of urgency fix their roads, abandoned police station and their market place and help them with security.

Some victim and residents sharing their ordeal revealed how the situation has left them in fear and panic.

Source richnews.com

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has taken notice of a press release from the NDC that seeks to create the false impression that the Supreme Court is being “INCITED” to cite Dr. Dominic Ayine for Contempt and also the lead Counsel of the Petitioner has been subjected to attacks by Hon. Kojo Oppong- Nkrumah Esq. and Henry Nana Boakye Esq.

The NPP takes strong exception to the plain lies therein and without a shred of equivocation, state:

1. It is an affront to the apex court of the land for the NDC to suggest that the venerable, experienced and learned Justices of the Supreme Court (SC) who, over time, have demonstrated to be independent and objective are amenable to “INCITEMENT” by spokespersons of the 2nd Respondent.
2. The claim that Hon. Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah Esq. and Henry Nana Boakye Esq. seek to incite the SC against Dr Dominic Ayine is a blatant falsehood that must be rejected by Ghanaians.
3. The unfortunate comments from Dr Dominic Ayine that “for the Supreme Court to reduce the Petition into a single issue Petition is rather unfortunate and smacks of a predetermined agenda to rule against the Petitioner in this matter…we think that the court by this decision has not done the people of this country a great service. In the sense that Ghanaians are interested in knowing the truth…the Justices, today, have not given us a reason to believe that they want the people of this country to know the truth about what happened” were voluntarily uttered by Dr. Ayine and he is solely responsible for its consequences.
4. Dr Ayine has in the past been warned by the court for his conduct aimed at disparaging the Supreme Court.
5. The suggestion that the Lawyers and Spokespersons of the 2nd Respondent have been attacking, insulting and belittling the lead Counsel of the Petitioner is a plain falsehood, mischievously crafted to solicit public sympathy for the legal team of the Petitioner to conceal their poor performance, evident from the dismissals almost every major motion/application they have filed has suffered thus far.
6. The regrettable attitude of the lead Counsel of the Petitioner towards the bench has been a matter of public outrage and it is not correct to suggest that it is the lawyers or spokespersons of the 2nd Respondent that have made a case out of it.
7. It is utterly shocking for the National Communications Officer of the NDC who, over the years, have persistently insulted and disrespected President Akufo-Addo – someone whose legal and political achievements, the former may never be able to attain in his entire life – to lament and suggest that the spokespersons of the 2nd Respondent ought to show deference to seniors at the Bar when in actual fact, there hasn’t been any act of disrespect on the part of the 2nd Respondent’s team towards the Petitioner’s lawyers or spokespersons.
8. We encourage the NDC team to focus on explaining to their supporters why the statistics they earlier claimed were in their favour have been abandoned in court.
9. We also admonish them to desist from misinforming the public on developments in court and also refrain from their penchant to create a false impression that the court is biased against them.
10. The Spokespersons for the 2nd Respondent’s legal team will remain forthright and continuously inform the public on the truth about developments in court and not hesitate to respond adequately to the NDC propaganda.

Source richnews.com

Demolishing of the forty-five (45) year old Maternity and Children block at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) by authorities after structural integrity cannot be the only solution.

“Though I don’t know what went into it, but the demolition is not the last resort”, Structural Engineer, based in Kumasi, Mr. Richard Nsiah stated in an interview monitored by richnews.com.

The government has begun demolishing the abandoned 45-year-old maternity block which was being funded by German Bank, Deutsche Bank, at the cost of €155 million after contractors say the building is weak for its purpose as Maternity block.

The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Friday, 15th May, 2020, cut sod for the reactivation of work for the completion of the project covered by richnews.com, then.

“Every problem started here. If you are to rework on such abandoned project, there should be diligent assessment before the work resumes. Identify every problem and the current status of the building”, the building expert told.

“This will enable you to know that we should pay attention to a particularly section [of the building] and know the materials to use for construction”, Engineer Richard Nsiah added.

According to Ashanti Regional Minister, Hon Simon Osei Mensah, “the contractor after assessing the building came to the conclusion that the building is not fit for the purpose, hence it has to be demolished”.

“He said, we all know the building has been abandoned for 45 years and it has become weak for its purpose as Maternity block. Though the building was awarded to a contractor when President Akufo-Addo cut sod for its reactivation but per the contractor’s advice after the project assessment, it has to be demolished” Hon Simon Osei Mensah revealed.

Hon Simon Osei Mensah disclosed that “government will build a new maternity block after demolishing the old structure”.

Source richnews.com

A school bus with the name “Great Minds Educational Complex”, a preparatory school belonging to actor Kwadwo nkanasah Liwin,today knocked and killed a seven-year-old school girl by the name Regina at Obuase a town in offinso off kumasi-techiman road in the Ashanti Region.

The accident, which occurred at about 7:30 am today threw the whole community into mourning as the brain of the girl gushed out after the bus had run over her head.

According to an eyewitness,the bus with the registration number GC -5169 Z was picking a student at the roadside and was about to make a U-turn and when the bus was moving backwards, not knowing the boy was standing at the back of the bus.

The boy now a deceased sustained various injuries and was rushed to St. Patrick hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.

The body has since been deposited at the hospital’s mortuary awaiting autopsy.

The driver has initially detained at the police custody and is helping the police in their investigations while the bus has been detained at the police station.

Source richnews.com

Officials of Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education through the National Teaching Council have so far facilitated the training of over 206 private school teachers in Ashanti region alone as part of their four months nationwide training programme.

Kumasi’s version which is the third cohort kick-started simultaneously with that of Accra on Friday 12th February 2021 at the Centre for National Culture. Executives of GNACOPS will be covering over 20 training centers within Ashanti region.

The training was done by 200 master trainers certified by the Ministry of Education through the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. The master trainers have been commissioned to train all private school teachers across the length and breadth of the country; a fulfillment of the Ministry’s objectives of having teacher professionalism as part of the ongoing reforms at the sector ministry.

The major reforms at the Ministry of Education in Ghana has seen the need for all teachers in the country to receive some special training on the Standard-Based Curriculum (SBC) and the Common Core Program (CPC).

The nationwide training commenced two weeks ago and according to the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS), they have been able to train over one thousand teachers (1000) in the private sector who are ready to enter into the teaching profession.

It is a desire of the Ministry of Education (MoE) to ensure sanity and quality assurance in private schools to meet global standards of education set by UNESCO.

The ministry of education is noted, that it is important to embark on a nationwide monitoring and supervision to ensure that all teachers are meeting the standard the global standard set by UNESCO and other international bodies.

According to the Executive Director of the Ghana National Council of Private Schools, Mr Enoch Kwasi Gyetuah, their engagements with the ministry have given them the opportunity to train their teachers on the SBC and CCP through NaCCA and jointly issue a participatory certificate that would serve in the interim as provisional certificate valid for 3 years but renewable every year through NTC to all those that will receive the training.

According to the Council’s quality assurance Director (Mr. Oko NerQuaye Tetteh)for this programme, stated that based on the new reforms that govern this area, all private schools teachers must ensure that they received this training as preparation grounds for becoming professional teachers.

Source: richnews.com

The Supreme Court has turned down a request filed by the petitioner, John Dramani Mahama, to re-open is Election Petition case which his lead lawyer, Tsatsu Tsikata closed last week.

The apex court in a unanimous decision rejected the request on Tuesday, February 16, 2021.

The court its ruling read by the Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, said the petitioner’s legal team failed to provide any evidence to warrant the reopening of their case hence the dismissal of the application.

“We accordingly refuse that application,” the Chief Justice said.

Mr. Mahama and his legal team filed the application following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a motion filed by the legal teams of the first and second respondents — the Electoral Commission and President Nana Akufo-Addo– to not call any witness in the case.

Although the petitioner fiercely objected to the application by the respondents, the court on Thursday, February 11, 2021, ruled that it cannot compel the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission to take the witness box.

The ruling also applied to the second respondent, Nana Akufo-Addo who was expected to present Peter Mac Manu as his witness. This led to Mr. Mahama filing an application on Thursday, February 11, 2021, seeking leave to reopen his case.

Source:richnews.com

The Eastern Regional Pontoon boat has broken down in the middle of the Volta Lake living passengers stranded.

Information gathered indicates that the engine broke down on Monday, 15th February 2021 around 4:30 pm

The spokesperson for the National Cargo Drivers Association, Mr. Dickson Agyei Donkor stated that it took some canoes to transport the stranded passengers to their destinations after an emergency call.

Mr. Donkor said the Pontoon vessel encountered a mechanical fault hence the failure.

He said the storm took place around 4:30 pm on Monday causing the pontoon to lose its direction on its way, thus; from Ekye Amanfrom heading towards Adawso.

Mr. Agyei Donkor explained the Pontoon Boat has operated on one engine for the past 6 months and the reserved engine had also developed a fault.

The Operator revealed that several complaints have been lodged to authorities about the over-reliance of the one left engine but nothing has been done.

Source: richnews.com