The 16-year-old son of well-kown Christian leader, Bishop Salifu Amoako, has been charged with manslaughter for allegedly causing a fatal accident in East Legon that resulted in the deaths of two girls both aged 12.
A statement from the Ghana Police Service confirmed that the suspect driver, Elrad Salifu Amoako, was put before the Accra Juvenile and Family Court on Friday November 1, 2024, on eight counts including the offence of Manslaughter.
READ ALSO: Police Confirm Salifu Amoako As Suspect In East Legon Accident
He pleaded not guilty but was subsequently remanded by the Court to a Correction Centre to reappear on 7th November 2024
The Court further ordered that Elrad Salifu Amoako travelling documents; his Ghanaian and US passports are to be surrendered and deposited at the court by Monday, November 4.
He is also to undergo a medical review at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) to address any health considerations that may arise while he is in remand.
He is to be sent to the Police Hospital in the event of any urgent medical issue during the period of remand.
Soon after the accident occurred, the suspect’s father; Bishop Salifu Amoako noted in public that his son has not used a gun to kill anyone so Ghanaians should tone down on the public outcry and backlash.
“My son did not carry a gun to kill anybody. He involved himself in a terrible accident, and I am not the one who did it, nor his mother. It is my name, that is why people are talking,” Bishop Salifu Amoako noted in an address to his church members on Sunday, exactly a day after the burial of one of the two killed girls.
READ ALSO: My Son Did Not Kill Anyone With A Gun; Stop The Noise – Bishop Salifu Amoako
Bishop Salifu Amoako noted further: “If this had been an Okada [motorcycle] accident, who would mention it? It’s only because of my name,” he added, urging people to stop talking and trust that “the Lord will intervene.”
His comments did not gone down well with a section of the public and it seems to have rather heightened the backlash.
Bishop Salifu Amoako, in his address to the congregation of his church, expressed his disapproval over reports that some of them physically attacked and assaulted journalists who were at the courts on official duty when he appeared before the courts over the accident case.
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“Control yourselves, ACI family, I urge you to have self-control. Some of you came to the court to disgrace me there. You didn’t behave wisely. You have added more battles to my battles already. What you came to do at the court is very disgraceful. You shouldn’t have done that.
“Do you know the damage you have done in my life? Now I am fighting what has happened to me and the media is fighting me. The case is now in the court. We don’t go to court to fight, but we go there to interpret the law”, he noted
“Some of you were lucky that you were not arrested. Some of you went there to mess up. By now, you should be in jail. I have not called you to come and fight for me. Now listen to me, I have not called you to come and fight for me,” Bishop Salifu Amoako stated.
