Fifty riotous Tumu SECTECH students in court

Fifty students of Tumu Senior High Technical School (SECTECH) have been dragged before the Tumu Magistrate Court over their alleged involvement in a demonstration that resulted in destruction of school property in May this year.

Students of the school on 23rd May rioted and destroyed valuable properties and threatened lives of the staff, which subsequently forced the Ghana Education Service to shut down the school indefinitely.

According to the Police, the students have been "charged for causing unlawful damages, stealing and carrying offensive weapons such as cutlasses and stones during the riot”.

The police named the suspected instigators of the riot as Mr Richard Narimah Kantong and Mr Suleman Bashan who ganged up other Form three (3) students to vandalised properties of the school.

The victims of the brutalities were identified by the police as the Headmaster, Mr Woyor Abass, the Assistant Headmaster, Mr Joseph Gandayari, the chief examinations officer, Mr. Seth Yaw Atta and the senior housemaster, Mr Seidu Amadu.

The students were alleged to have accused Mr Abu Raman Hadi and Mr Dominic Yaw Tunti and others for not allowing them to cheat during the West African Examination for senior high schools.

The court heard that out of the 50 accused students, 21 were present in court while 29 were absent of which 22 were not present because the police did not have enough information about them.

The Prosecution told the court that remaining seven accused students have not yet been arrested.

The presiding Magistrate, Ernest Yao Agbenye, granted 19 of the accused student's present bail in the sum of GH? 5,000 each with one surety each, who should be in active service and earn a net salary of GH? 1,000.00 When the Ghana News Agency contacted the Registrar of the Court, Mr Amadu Razak Kanton, he said the Mr Richard Narimah Kantong and Mr Suleman Bashan were remanded into police custody.

He said the two accused persons who orchestrated the riots were not granted bail but to reappear in court with the remaining 48 accused students on June 18, 2019.