Kaneshie District Court Remand Two Persons For Killing Ride-hailing App ‘Drivers’ – Insight
Two young men between the ages of 25 and 32 have been arraigned for allegedly killing a Bolt driver making away with his vehicle in Accra.
The accused persons namely Michael Adzomani and Alfred Avornyo, have allegedly been plotting together with their accomplices to attack Bolt and Uber drivers, kill them, and then steal their cars, which they sell to the unsuspecting public.
The accused persons, charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and murder, appeared before the Kaneshie District Court on Monday, and have been remanded into lawful custody. Their pleas were not taken, because it is a committal trial, in which the Magistrate will consider whether the prosecution has sufficient evidence to prosecute the case at the High Court.
Her Worship N.A.A. Owusu-Omenye, the Presiding Magistrate, adjourned the case to October 19, 2023, for continuation.
Inspector J. Asondek told the court that Michael, 23, and Alfred, 32, were both rider services’ drivers, and their latest victim is 36-year-old Kwame Henordzi. Before the untimely death of Kwame, he was in charge of blue coloured Toyota Vitz car used for rider services.
According to the prosecutor, the accused persons, together with their accomplices – Hartman Mensan alias Richie, Joshua aka General, and another at large – allegedly operated a robbery gang within Accra and other parts of the country, targeting rider services drivers.
According to Mr. Asondek, for about three months now, the gang had killed many Bolt and Uber drivers, snatched their cars, re-sprayed, and sold them.
He continued that on July 12, 2023, whilst the deceased, Thomas Kwame
Henordzi was working with his car within the Accra Metropolis, Michael and Alfred, the accused persons and their accomplices requested for a ride from Bolt Holdings Ghana Limited, and the deceased was detailed to pick them up.
The prosecutor said information gathered from Bolt Holdings office in Accra confirmed that the accused persons requested for a ride at Agbogba, a suburb of Accra, and their destination was Lincoln Avenue, Asikabiu near Nsawam.
The information indicated that at about 1:52 pm on the same day, the deceased’s phone went offline from the Bolt’s online monitoring platform.
The suspects took the deceased to Bowkrom, a suburb of Nsawam, killed him, later dumped his body by the roadside, and took away his car.
The body of the deceased was spotted by some people in the community and the Assembly Member for the area was informed. He also reported the case to the Nsawam Police.
The police visited the scene and conveyed the body to the Police Hospital Mortuary for preservation and autopsy. On July 25, 2023, ACP/Dr. Osei Owusu-Afriyie conducted a post-mortem examination on the body and gave the cause of death as a. Asphyxiation, and b. Strangulation.
The accused persons were later arrested from their hideouts after a series of intelligence-led operations were conducted. He said the saloon car was retrieved from suspect Michael Adzormani.
Investigations further revealed that the accused persons and their accomplices have been involved in four other similar offenses across the country, which were under investigation at the Homicide Unit at the CID Headquarters.
The court was told that efforts were underway to arrest the accused persons’ accomplices, and retrieve another Toyota Vitz saloon car sold to a buyer in Takrwa by Alfred Avornyo.
Credit: The Chronicle
