DCE in car chase

... Police, Jake’s office investigate

A section of the populace is beginning to have the perception that the new wind of positive change blowing across the country could best be told by drivers, especially taxi drivers.

Aside from the astronomical increase in fuel, there is the new dimension of officials bullying them on the roads. Last month, the unbelievable story of a minister commandeering a taxicab at gunpoint from Suhum and driven all the way to Cape Coast rocked the whole country with awe.

The other time, it was the Vanet STC bus driver who unknowingly overtook the IGP’s convoy and was put before a Konongo court. This time round, it is the turn of the Dangme East District Chief Executive, Mr. Kofi Plahar, who after turning himself into an MTTU personnel, chased a taxi for several kilometres for alleged careless driving.

He bundled him into police cells at Ada and the next thing he saw was that the Hyundai Lantra bought exactly two weeks at ?26 million was found burnt to ashes.

The driver, 25-year-old Samuel Peku, narrating his story with tears said after several years of unemployment, the Hyundai Lantra with registration number GW 4781 R was purchased for him. On August 7, this year, his taxi was chartered to Kasseh, Ada. Hailing from Ada, he decided to visit home at Ada Foah to see how his mother was doing. On his way back at the Clinic Junction, a friend stopped and gave him ?1.2 million to be sent to Tema, as he believed with the Asafotufiami festivities, the money would be spent unnecessarily.

According to Samuel Peku, as he drove a few kilometres, he heard on Radio Ada that his vehicle should report at the radio station and he therefore stopped over midway to enquire of the location of the station.

Just at that moment, a Toyota Landcruisher pulled up behind and the driver rushed on him as he remained behind the steering wheel and ordered that he drove to the police station. He enquired the reason but before he could say ‘Jack,’ the attacker attempted to remove the ignition key.

Thinking the attacker was an armed robber who might have seen the money given to him to be sent to Tema, he resisted and pushed him into the gutter. In his bid to drive to the police station since his life was in extreme danger, his taxi hit the bumper of another parked taxi and failed to stop because he was being pursued by the Landcruisher whose driver he thought was an armed robber.

Radio Ada started running a live report on his movement, announcing that the driver is an armed robber who has killed somebody and a cow. The call was for people in the community to obstruct his movement and that he was not surprised when before Gole Kope, he found a tractor, a GPRTU bus and bicycles blocking the road.

A few moments after stopping, the Landcruisher pulled up again, this time with several men and they ordered the crowd to bundle him into the Landcruiser. According to him, his appeal to his pursuers to allow him to remove some valid documents and the day’s sales and the ?1.2 million was ignored.

He said he was locked up at the Ada Foah police station till the following day - August 8. When he enquired from the police, he was informed that the complainant is the new District Chief Executive (DCE) and on the state of his taxi, he was told that it was found burnt into ashes.

He was released on the same day, without making a statement. Our investigation revealed that the Office of the Chief of Staff is investigating the case, alongside the police at Ada and Kasseh, where he submitted a statement.

All attempts to get Mr. Kofi Plahar’s side of the story failed.A telephone call to his officeat about 1:25 p.m. brought on his public relations officer, who said the DCE was out.

The public relations officer promised to call back, but at the time of going to press, he had not done so.

However, a senior police source at the Police Headquarters intimated that the case had reached a level, which they could not comment on too much. He confirmed the story and went ahead to say that two persons had been arrested, but withheld their names.

Further enquiries revealed that people in the Ada township have been cautioned against talking to strangers, as all efforts are being made to label the driver to be a criminal.

Chronicle investigations continue. Who burnt the car?