Please sign this petition to have Officer Richard Owusu from the Airport MTTU investigated for bribery, not conducting any investigations and victimisaiton and bullying. If you have also been a victim of such madness share the petition. Share your stories of police vitimisaiton. #themadnessmuststop!
Last year in December an indisciplined and impatient taxi driver
whilst making a dangerous overtaking, rammed into my car nearly causing
me serious injury and death. Instead of admitting his fault and agreeing
to pay for damages to my car and hospital costs, he instead bribed a
policeman Officer Richard Owusu from the Airport police station to
declare upon his 'investigations' which was never conducted that I was
the guilty party in the accident. I was taken to court charged for
careless negligent driving and causing harm to him.
before the
court proceedings, the police officers tried to convince me to admit
fault and settle the case (pay the taxi driver off or risk being taken
to court for something I was not responsible for. I declined and decided
to take my chances with our country's erratic justice system.
It's been almost 10 months of waking up once a week at 4 am to make my
journey and appearance in court to see this case through.
Today
the judge on my case read her verdict. After reviewing the evidence, she
declared me not guilty on both counts against me. I was bullied right
throughout the trial by court clerks and other police officers at the
courts; I had a bench warrant issued against me when the police officer
deliberately withheld the date and time I was to present myself in
court; I was handcuffed and threatened to be taken to a police cell till
bail was paid. But I pressed on.
Many of us would've just payed
the police man off to make this time consuming and emotionally draining
experience to go away. I could've done the same. I could've called
people I knew in high places to make this case vanish. But what would it
achieve?
There is injustice in our system only because many good
people choose to remain silent.Stop being fearful! The police in our
country victimise citizens, take bribes and do not do proper
investigations. If the policeman in my case had remained impartial and
investigated the accident, there is no way I would be charged and taken
through an emotional ordeal for something I was innocent of.
It's
time our police are taken to task for acting with the impunity they do.
Such victimisation by our police will only stop once we decide to
speak out. Report them make it impossible for them not to do what is
right.
Next time you have a police matter, insist the right thing
is done, go through the procedures and do what is right... Stop paying
bribes to corrupt police officers in clear cut cases of wrong doing.
There are many innocent people languishing in jail because of the impunity our police show. #Themadnessmuststop!
Cc: Anas Aremeyaw Anas Ghana police News Ghana Police Service Ghana Police Service General Info Manasseh Azure Awuni
Police Public Affairs Directorate (Ghana Police Service)
This is awful. A whole lot of improvements have to made to our law enforcement system. Officer OWUSU has to be disciplined. But who is going to pay to replace the damaged car? Well done for your perseverance Maame Kate.