…Senior C’ssioners Summoned, As Police Begin Investigations Into Death Of Cadet Recruit
Some senior commissioners of the Customs division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) are in trouble over the sudden death of one of the senior cadet recruits, George Annor, and collapsed of five others, through harsh welcome training exercise at academy and training school at Kpetoe in the Agotime-Ziope District of the Volta Region.
Information available to The New Crusading Guide is that the leadership of Ghana Police Service with tacit support of the customs division of the GRA, Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) BNI, National Security and Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning have begun thorough investigations into the circumstances that led to death of the 34-year-old and collapsed of five others.
This paper gathered that the leadership of the these state institutions are taking the actions after the parents and members of the family of the affected senior cadet recruits petitioned the institutions to ensure that e justice prevails in the matter.
Worst still, the government through these institutions have summoned the senior commissioners of customs division of GRA in charge of Kpetoe Academy and Training School in the persons of Benjamin Kwasi Fufagbi and Appiah Waden Junior to answer questions on the circumstances that led to the unfortunate incident and if they were found guilty would be charged appropiately.
The Volta Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), Mr Edward Oduro Kwarteng, confirmed the incident to journalists and noted that George Annor, was part of senior cadets who had reported at the academy for training on March 31, 2019, and that investigations are currently ongoing.
He told journalists that the deceased was reported to have collapsed and subsequently died after being made to undergo some rigorous arrival formalities [drills] at the training school.
He was initially rushed to Kpetoe Health Centre where he was given first aid and later referred to the Volta Regional Hospital in Ho.
George Annor was however pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital, with fresh wounds spotted on both knees.
An autopsy report from the 37 Military Hospital revealed that the deceased died as a result of “acute ventricular failure,” DCOP Kwarteng disclosed.
Five other persons are said to have collapsed in the course of the drills, which demanded that they bend both knees and move while carrying their luggage.
The paper’s findings revealed that the Senior Officer of the of Academy, Mr Benjamin Kwasi Fufagbi accompanied by the Assistant Commissioner of same address, Mr Appiah Waden Junior on Sunday March 31,2019 came to Kpetoe Police District Command and reported that at about 1300 hours, senior cadets reported at the Academy for training and in the process of arrival exercise to get them initiated into the Academy, George Annor collapsed and was rushed to the Kpetoe Health Center for medical treatment.
New Crusading GUIDE was told that in their statement of claim they told the police that George Annor, after collapsing, was given first aid at Kpetoe Health Center and referred to the Volta Regional Hospital in Ho but was pronounced dead on arrival and that
According to the sources, the police officers Kpetoe Police District Command led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Gesuorkong Joseph visited the mortuary at the said hospital and inspected the body of the deceased on the slab and observed that there were fresh wounds on both knees.
The sources indicated that the dead body of George Annor deposited at the same mortuary for preservation and onwards conveyance to police Hospital in Accra for autopsy.
Our findings also revealed that the recruit died as a result of a regular welcome harsh training exercise by new cadet recruits.
Five others,
New Crusading GUIDE understands the 5 others who were also molested during the harsh training collapsed, and are currently responding to medical treatment at various hospitals in the Volta Region.
A secret video recording of the harsh training sighted by New Crusading GUIDE shows that the recruits being shoved and heckled as they carried their luggage on their heads.
Those whose luggage were considered by the instructors as light were given additional weight, including cement blocks and cements.
The welcome exercise is an age-old ritual at the training school where new recruits are met at a distance from the school by their instructors for an endurance drill.
During the exercise, the cadet recruits are usually instructed to hop, jump, run and perform other tactical activities with their luggage as a test of their endurance and to prepare them for the real training itself.
The ritual is also used to give recruits the opportunity to decide whether they want to continue the training or not. This activity often attracts residents of Kpetoe Township who line up along the streets to watch the recruits.
The Sunday March 31, 2019 training exercise, this paper learnt, was out of the ordinary as it recorded a lot of excesses including beating and maltreatment.
These drew a lot of crowd on the streets, some of whom took footages with their phones.
Meanwhile, the top officials of the Academy have been widely condemned by the public after the video of the treatment meted out to new recruits went viral and noted that this was the first time they had seen that kind of exercise.
“We have been witnessing this welcome exercises, but this one was too much and too dangerous…we were afraid for the recruits, some residents at Kpetoe stated.”
The residents who were furious described the exercise as sheer wickedness rather than training: “How can you torture a fellow human being and refer to that as training? I don’t think military training is like this.”
