The Akuapem South Municipal Security Council has detained an alleged Custom Excise and Preventive Service officer named Daniel Adjei and his accomplice John Annan after they invaded the community of Asuafum in the Eastern region, a suburb of Aburi, and destroyed the only 12-seat KVIP public restroom.
On Wednesday, September 13, 2023, the suspect and his accomplices reportedly stormed the neighborhood with bulldozers and tore down the toilet facility that the assembly had constructed, leaving the locals without a restroom.
“The customs officer and land guards stormed the community to demolish the toilet facility built by the assembly. The residents attempted to resist them but the land guards were armed with guns and other dangerous weapons, so the residents couldn’t make progress to stop them. However, they were happy the security intervened to arrest them,” Assemblyman Daniel Asiamah, who represents the Aburi West electoral district, is quoted on a news website.
The neighborhood has been served by the now-demolished building for many years as the only public restroom because many homes in the neighborhood lack toilets.
If a new toilet facility is not built right away, open defecation could increase and there could be a cholera outbreak in the neighborhood.
According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census of Ghana, there are no toilet facilities in about 18% of households, with the percentage being more than three times higher in rural (31.3%) than urban (8.9%) homes.
The Eastern Regional Police Command is reportedly in possession of the suspects, who will help with the investigation.
Three security officers arrested for the 'unlawful' demolition of a public toilet#UTVNews pic.twitter.com/8QvLFuWrJA
— UTV Ghana (@utvghana) September 14, 2023
According to Ghana Police Service Director-General of Operations COP George Alex Mensah, he’s very happy with how the proceedings of the probe into the alleged plot to oust Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr. George Akuffo Dampare is going.
He made this comments after he faced the 7-member Parliamentary Committee set up to investigate into the matter once again off-camera.
