Soldier’s killing: Boase residents have warlike mentality – Former DCE

A former District Chief Executive, Ambrose Ashia has described the Boase community, a mining town in the Upper Denkyira West District of the Central Region where a military officer was killed on Monday, as one with a psyche of impunity, savagery and lawlessness.

According to him, most of the inhabitants have a warlike mentality which makes them have complete disregard for the rule of law.

The former DCE who presided over the area for three years under the esrtwhile Mahama administration was commenting on the gruesome murder of Captain Maxwell Mahama by residents of Boase on Asempa FM Tuesday.

The deceased soldier who was Commander of a Military Detachment in the area on Monday went jogging along the main road, but was allegedly spotted by two women with a pistol on him.

Due to an armed robbery incident that had occured in the area the previous day (Sunday), the women suspected the Soldier who was not dressed in military uniform at the time of being one of the armed robbers and reportedly raised alarm, called the assembly man who organized the youth of the town to lynch him.

According to reports even though Captain Maxwell Mahama pleaded several times that he was not a criminal, the angry residents kept hitting him with cement blocks until he died. They then burned his body.

Commenting further, Hon. Ambrose Ashia who condemned the dastardly act by the residents however said he was not the least surprised about their conduct.

He recountered several instances where the residents attacked innocent individuals including Chinese contractors who were constructing the main roads in the district.

“Between 2013-2015 when the Chinese Company was constructing our main roads, the youth of Boase attacked and beat the Chinese contractors, who were using stones from the area for the construction, claiming the contractors had not done provided them with any ammenities. They only stopped after security personnel were called in. Again, a man who had gone for an allnight service was lynched on his return after he was suspected to be a serial killer but luckly he survived and presented himself to the police.”

He noted that a raging chieftaincy dispute in Boase has rendered the traditional authority in the area with no powers to act.

“If the Chief of the town could assert his powers as the ruler, his palace should have been the first point of call when the late Captain Mahama was arrested on suspicion that he was an armed robber. While I was in office, during durbars, I always advised the residents against taking the law into their own hands.”

Meanwhile, scores of youth in Boase have been rounded up in a swoop Tuesday, by soldiers who have stormed the town following the killing of the junior Military officer.

The youth are being held for their alleged complicity in the killing of the soldier.

About 35 troops are presently in the town to establish the circumstances leading to the lynching of the young officer.