A gruesome discovery was made in the early hours of Monday, July 15, as the body of a male bus conductor was found with his throat slit, bringing the total number of unexplained deaths in the Wa killings to 17.
The deceased, identified as Richard Opoku, had accompanied a trailer transporting salt to Wa and was invited to spend the night at the salt owner’s house. However, he chose to spend a few hours on the veranda before retiring to bed. The following morning, traces of blood were seen on the veranda, leading to the discovery of his body behind the house.
The police have initiated investigations and arrested the owner of the salt and the driver of the trailer for further questioning.
The Member of Parliament for Wa Central, Rashid Pelpuo, has called on the security services to intensify their efforts in searching for individuals responsible for these mysterious killings. “When the people go out to take the laws in their own hands, you can’t control them. It’s painful that you see these things happening but you don’t see the people. You can imagine people sitting on radio advertising that they have secret societies and they would be rich if they join.”
Pelpuo expressed concern about the advertising of illegal organizations on radio, stating, “They are openly advertising all these on radio and the police is comfortable with that. I don’t know anyone who will be advertising that they are going to make people rich and you see people lining up to see them and they are not being investigated. These are illegal organisations pushing people to bring illegal materials to help them become rich.”
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Bole, Yusif Sulemana, has intensified calls for action against the ongoing serial killings in his constituency. He urged the Interior Minister, Henry Quartey, to put in place measures to end the Wa killings, which have resulted in a self-imposed curfew, causing people to sleep early due to fear of possible attacks and killings.
“Last night, for instance, Mr Speaker, I decided to take a walk in the Bole Township and by 8:30 pm, almost everyone was asleep, self-imposed curfew. We cannot continue in this manner,” Sulemana protested.
