…And Fails To Fulfill Promise

The vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama is reeling under hot social pressure after a gentleman’s promise he made to a couple whose car he jammed in 1996 with his Volvo car with registration number GR 8223 H, never really saw the light of day.

Madam Janet Akuamoah the widow, is still struggling but in vain after 11 years to get His Excellency the Vice President, fulfill his own promise to her late husband and the Ghana Police Service to replace their car, which was damaged beyond repairs through an accident.

The pain is that the widow whose taxi cab fetched bread for breakfast, lunch and supper for the poor children she has constantly struggled to take care of, has not been reimbursed as was initially promised.

Much earlier, reneging on the promise contributed, according to the widow, in hurrying her husband to his death because, shouldering the burden of economic responsibilities was too weighty for his drooping shoulders.

Mr. Akuamoah who led the crusade to ensure that, Aliu Mahama fulfilled the undertaken to Police, could not fight to the end but died while pursuing the case against the Veep.

However after his death, Madam Akuamoah who was saddled with four kids to take care of, still nursed some belief that His Excellency Aliu would see reason, and at least replace her husband’s car which could have served as a source of income for the family. That dream still remains a mirage.

Efforts by this reporter to get the issue resolved amicably, has also proved futile.

THE SUN gathered that on August 25, 1996, one Dr. A. W. Alhassan reported at Odorkor MTTU that, there was an accident at Kwashieman Junction involving a taxi cab and a Volvo saloon car. After the report, the witness was accompanied by Sgt. E. Y. Fianko to the scene, and found the two vehicles at their resultant positions. The two drivers were nowhere to be found.

However, the Police marked the important positions for measurement, and the two vehicles removed to the station and impounded for examination. Later in the day, at about 9.45pm Mr. Alex Owusu reported himself at the police station that, he was the one driving the taxi cab No. GZA 7320 when the accident occurred.

The Sun gathered that the next day, August 26th 1996, Alhaji Aliu Mahama sent some of his employees to the police station, claiming the ownership of the Volvo saloon car. However he failed to produce the person who was driving the vehicle, when it was involved in the accident. The Sun learnt that he later informed the police that, the car was then being driven by his son, who left for London a day after the accident and refused to produce him for prosecution, after it came to light that the driver of the Volvo car was at fault.

Aliu therefore proposed to repair the car, and due to that the taxi cab was sent to a workshop for repairs, but reneged on the agreement and allowed the taxi to rust beyond repairs at the workshop.

The Sun gathered that when Owusu was not seeing his way clear he reported Aliu back to the Odorkor Police.

Independent sources stated that when the police attempted to arrest Aliu, he sent the Member of Parliament for Gukpegu/Sabongida constituency, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris now the Northern Regional Minister to intervene on his behalf.

When the police angle was not working to his satisfaction, Owusu sent the case to CHRAJ against the police but months later after the ruling, died and the efforts by his wife to continue from where her husband left of has not been successful.

The efforts by this reporter, through the office of the Vice President to resolve the issue has also hit a rock.

The issue was first reported to Mr. O. B. Amoah who was then a legal adviser at the office of the Vice President, but all he did was to invite Madam Akuamoah to the Castle with the promise of replacing the car, but nothing came out of the promise.

When Mr. Yaw Buabeng Asamoah also took over, his attention was drawn to the plight of the widow but he also failed to get his boss to act on the issue.