Residents of Wa, the capital of the Upper West region, are considering banning politicians from campaigning in their area if immediate measures are not taken to stop the ongoing killings of innocent citizens.
The latest incident occurred early on Monday, July 15, 2024, where a man in his late thirties, identified as a driver’s mate, was found murdered near a warehouse where he had been unloading goods.
According to reports, residents expressed deep concerns about the persistent violence and stated they were living in constant fear.
They emphasised their reluctance to engage with politicians until effective solutions are implemented to address the escalating menace.
This recent fatality marks the 14th victim believed to have been brutally murdered by a suspected syndicate operating in Wa since 2022.
The Upper West regional police command has arrested a total of 18 persons so far in connection with the killing of 11 persons by unknown men in Wa, the regional capital.
Confirming the arrests to Citi News, a principal state attorney at the Upper West regional office of the Attorney General’s Department, Saeed Abdu-Shakur, disclosed that eight of the suspects have been granted bail by the Wa circuit court.
The remaining 10 have been remanded in police custody for further investigations into the killings that occurred in Wa in the last nine months.
Police had announced a GHC 100,000 bounty on persons behind the killings in Wa.
Police have special purpose intelligence and investigation teams working with members of the community.
The Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) has added its voice to calls for the perpetrators of the mysterious deaths happening in Wa in the Upper West Region.
GJA President, Mr Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, who made the call on behalf of journalists in the country urged the Police to ensure that the killers of five people in Wa are brought to justice.
He made the appeal at the 2022 International Peace Day press conference in Accra, which was organised by the National Peace Council (NPC) in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) in Ghana.
“As we celebrate this year’s Peace Day, it is my hope that Ghana and the world will witness a lasting peace,” Mr Dwumfour stated.
“This week alone, we all learnt with shock the dastardly killing of five persons in Wa. This has heightened tension in the Region which, if not handled well can disturb the peace we are all yearning for.”
He called on the Police to do everything within their powers to arrest the perpetrators of this heinous crime.
He said the Police must intensify security in the northern sector of the country, particularly, in Wa and work towards crime prevention, since it was the only way peace could be guaranteed.
The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the UN General Assembly to commemorate and strengthen the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples as a period of non-violence and cease-fire.
The Global theme for this year’s commemoration is “End Racism. Build Peace”.
The NPC, in seeking to harness Ghana’s existing inter-ethnic and inter-religious ties and to promote tolerance, unity and a more inclusive society, has domesticated the theme: “Managing Ethnic Diversity in Ghana for Sustainable Peace”.
Mr Dwumfour appealed to the Peace Council, the Police Service and institutions of peace to collaborate with the GJA in building the capacity of journalists on security issues, aimed at ensuring a lasting peace in our communities and country.
He also called on the Interior Ministry to always update the media on the state of insecurity of the country to enable us the media and the citizenry to work towards creating the enabling environment for peace to reign.
“In achieving peace, we all need to put our shoulders to the wheel and commit to it. We need to “walk the talk and not talk the talk”,” Mr Dwumfour said.
He said the citizenry must also assist the Police with information to enable them fight crime which was a major threat to peace; saying “peace is a collective responsibility”.
He reiterated the GJA’s resolve and unwavering commitment to supporting the Peace Council to deliver on their mandate, which ultimately is ensuring peace in the country.
Reverend Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, Chairman, Governing Board, NPC, said the local theme for the celebration was to allow them to address Ghana’s peculiar challenge of ethnic and tribal sentiments that are gaining root in the country and gradually eroding the peace we have as a people.
He called on Ghanaians, institutions of state and civil society to join forces to remove barriers to the realization of a just, fair, open, and inclusive society for all the peoples of Ghana.
He appealed to the chiefs and people of the Bawku traditional area to cease fire; declaring that “Nobody gains from protracted conflicts. I am not sure any body involved in the conflict is happy that children are not in school, the sick cannot access health service, movement of goods and people have been restricted and freedoms curtailed”
Mr Charles Abani, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ghana, said in terms of peace, Ghana was a crown of jewel in the sub-region; adding that Ghana’s peace architecture was a model for other countries to emulate.
Mrs Afi Azaratu Yakubu, Executive Secretary, National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons, said small arms and light weapons continue to play a terrible role in robbing the nation of its peace; saying “indeed, small arms and light weapons fuel a lot of our conflicts”.
For the sake of peace, she appealed to Ghanaians to use dialogue in resolving their differences.
The event was attended by members of the Queen Mothers Foundation Ghana and students from Labone Senior High School and Accra High School.
Intercity STC Managing Director, Nana Akomea, has lauded the Ghana Police Service for their arrest of a suspect in connection with recent killings in Wa municipality in the Upper West Region.
Fear has gripped residents at Wa following serial killings and kidnapping in the municipality.
The suspect, Kankani Adongo, was arrested at Bamahu, a suburb of Wa after extensive collaboration between the Police and community search parties.
The suspect is in custody and will be arraigned to face justice.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, has also assured the community that the Police will arrest all the perpetrators as they don’t believe the crimes were committed by one suspect.
“Be assured that we will keep improving on the security situation because we are there for you,” IGP assured the residents.
Speaking on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” show with Nana Yaw Kesseh, Nana Akomea bemoaned the shocking incident but strongly believed the Police will find all the accomplices.
He asked the residents to assist the Police to bring closure to the murders in the Region saying, “let us all support the Police to ensure these killings at Wa come to an end and the suspects arrested . . . even if it’s in Accra that about 10 people have been killed in three weeks – one month – there will be fears, not to talk of Wa. So, we commend the Police for taking swift steps and pray for a way forward so that our people in Wa will have peace”.
Wa Central Member of Parliament, Rashid Pelpuo, has disclosed that the latest killings that had bedeviled the Upper West Regional capital was ritualistic in nature.
Whiles lamenting the growing distress that the killings was having on his constituents, Pelpuo said there was the need for police to step up intelligence to curb the situation.
He said perpetrators are after their victims for ritual purposes. “They are very ritualistic from what we have seen so far,” he said in an interview on Accra-based Citi FM on Tuesday, September 20, 2022.
“In the case of today’s killing, the body was cut open, heart and kidneys removed, testes are also taken. I don’t know what they do with it, it is very terrible, terrible,” he added.
Lead suspect arrested after multiple incidents of murder in Wa
Probe into recent serial killings in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region appears to have received a major boost after Police apprehended a prime suspect on Monday, September 19.
The arrest of Kankani Adongo was said to have taken place through the collaboration of the locals and the Police at Bamahu, a community in the municipality.
The locals who reportedly spotted the suspect, apprehended him and then took him to the palace of the Paramount Chief of the Wala Traditional Area who in turn informed the Police about the arrest of the suspect.
Head of the Public Affairs unit of the Regional Police Command, Chief Inspector Gideon Ohene Boateng in a statement on Monday said: “The Police have arrested one person believed to be the prime suspect behind the Wa murder case.
“Suspect Kankani Adongo, was arrested on 19th September, 2022 at Bamahu, a suburb of Wa after extensive collaboration between the Police and community search parties.
“Suspect is in custody and will be arraigned before the court to face justice,” the statement read in part.
Suspect allegedly eats body parts of victims
According to security and safety analyst, Dr Adam Bonaa, who says he has gathered intelligence to the effect that the suspect ate body parts of some of his victims.
“My intelligence suggests the suspect was behaving in a cannibalistic way. When he was arrested, it was found out that he had eaten some body parts of the people he allegedly killed. This is a very disturbing development if you ask me,” Dr Bonaa is quoted in a report by kasapafmonline.com.
The analyst alluded that such tendencies by the suspect may result from mental health issues.
The arrest follows recent pattern of security officers of some schools disappearing overnight.
Adongo was said to have been found with some clothes belonging to some of the missing persons in his possession.
The Police had a hectic time in their attempt to take the suspect to the Police station due to the resistance of the crowd that had amassed outside the palace who wanted him handed over for instant justice.
This information was found in a statement the Upper West Regional Police Command released.
The unidentified body was found by the special purpose intelligence and investigation team on Monday, September 19, 2022, according to the details.
The body has since been retrieved and deposited at the Regional Hospital morgue awaiting autopsy by a pathologist from the police hospital and a team of experts in Accra.
In five months, ten lives have been lost in bizarre circumstances to ‘serial killers’ in the region.
Last Friday, some residents showed up in their numbers at the Technical Institute to protest the security situation in Wa.
Only three bodies have been found out of the ten people who have lost their lives.
The police has meanwhile placed a 100K bounty for information on the killings.
In a statement, the police said, “We continue to urge anyone with credible information that will lead to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators to come forward and share with the Police. In line with this, a reward of GHC100,000 has been set aside for anyone who provides information in that regard”.
“The police continue to maintain law, order, and security in the Wa municipality and surrounding communities,” the statement issued on Monday, September 19, 2022, said.
“We wish to assure residents of the Wa municipality and its environs that the special intelligence and investigation teams will continue to work around the clock with assistance from the affected communities to bring the perpetrators to face justice. Operations and combat teams have also saturated the area to ensure safety and security,” the statement added.
