Police release statement on #FixTheCountry attempted donation
Inmate dies at Ashaiman Police Station from starvation
Youth activism group, #FixTheCountry Movement, says it has hitherto donated some food items which was rejected by the Ghana Police Service to inmates of the Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital in Cape Coast.
One of the lead conveners of the group, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, in March this year was prevented by the police from making a donation of food items to inmates of the Ashaiman Police Station where he had been released from on bail pending his trial in an ongoing criminal case.
In a later statement, the police said it turned down the donation as it was against safety and protocols outlined in line with the feeding of inmates.
However in a new development, #FixTheCountry said it has since gone ahead to donate the food items to inmates at the psychiatric hospital by liaising with the Professional Association of Psychiatric Nurses-Ghana.
“In view of the refusal of the Ghana Police Service to accept the donation, #FixTheCountry partnered with the Professional Association of Psychiatric Nurses-Ghana to make the donations to the Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital. Our decision to donate to the Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital forms part of the interest of #FixTheCountry and the Professional Association of Psychiatric Nurses-Ghana to draw attention to the need for Ghanaians to take Mental Health seriously, and to encourage public philanthropy towards supporting Mental Health institutions in Ghana,” #FixTheCountry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, an inmate of the Ashaiman police station is said to have died while in custody due to starvation.
This was alleged in a post by Oliver Barker-Vormawor who stated that the deceased was kept in custody after he failed to pay bribe to a police officer.
“I am sad to report that an inmate at the Ashaiman Police Station has passed away. Ebenezer Dosu was arrested by a police officer who was extorting money from him. The police officer arrested and kept Ebenezer from evening 6pm till 11pm; and when he could not pay the money he was demanding, he went to lock him up at 11:30pm. As the police normally do when they are extorting money, no official entries were made and he was locked up without due process.
Ebenezer complained of hunger and stomach ache throughout the night and was ignored.
“He died the next morning. The arresting officer and the Counter NCO who was on duty have been recommended for interdiction,” he wrote.
In it’s statement announcing the donation made to Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital, #FixTheCountry said “As we are coming to terms with the news today that an inmate at the Ashaiman Police Station has died from, we are deeply saddened by the reckless disregard for human live we continue to witness in this country and the lack of institutional honesty that was displayed when the Ghana Police Service issued a statement claiming contrary to all verifiable facts, that the Police feed persons in their custody.
“We would like to also bemoan the inhumane conditions that our people going through rehabilitation have to endure and the lack of risk cover or insurance for the nurses who take care of those going through the rehabilitation process. The buildings that occupy them needs a facelift and more budgetary allocations should be allocated to our mental health institutions to make the road to recovery faster,” the group added.
The food items donated according to the group was worth over GHC10,000 and include flour, bags of rice, cooking oil, first aid medication, milk, toiletries and drinks amongst other items.
The donation was made up of several food items