PRESS CORPS DRIVER BUS DRIVER MISSING

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday, September 17, 2015

The driver of the vehicle that killed Ghanaian Times presidential correspondent, Samuel Nuamah, and left other journalists fighting for their lives after a gory accident on August 20, 2015, is missing.

DAILY GUIDE learnt that since he was discharged from the Tamakloe Ward at the 37 Military Hospital, a day after the much-talked-about accident, the driver has gone into hiding, making investigations into the matter very difficult.

A source said the police have been able to interview all those involved in the accident except the driver, whose name the presidency is keeping under wraps.

It also is emerging that some powerful personalities at the presidency are working hard to conceal the facts about the accident.

The registration file containing documents covering the GMC Savanna mini bus that was carrying the Presidential Press Corps, reportedly vanished from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) in what looks like a decisive official cover-up.

Vehicle Vanishes

The vehicle was towed to the Doryumu Police Station a few hours after the accident but later disappeared from the station following alleged instructions from superior officers.

The mangled vehicle was first towed from the accident scene and sent to the Doryumu Police Station but before daybreak it had been removed from the place and has not been sighted by anybody.

Checks indicated that it was towed to the Accra Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate of the Ghana Police Service (MTTD).

Vehicle Owner

DAILY GUIDE learnt that the company that rented out the bus to the Flagstaff House might be owned by a person who has strong ties with the presidency.

Missing Documents

Preliminary police checks at the scene of the accident suggested that the vehicle had worn-out tyres and DAILY GUIDE investigation has also revealed that the vehicle’s road worthiness certificate expired long before the accident.

DAILY GUIDE checks at the DVLA indicated that documents covering the mini bus could not be found at the GB column. “The entire file is gone!” a source said.

The missing documents and alleged official intervention are said to be hampering police investigations.

“It was done in a manner that suggests that some people are trying to conceal the identity of the owner of the vehicle,” a source at DVLA noted.

Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, is on record to have said that the vehicle was rented from a company at the Labadi Beach but could not name the company.

President’s Media Team

The vehicle was rented by the Transport Department at the presidency on the request of the Communications Department to augment the president’s media team to Ho in the Volta Region without checking the roadworthiness of the bus. Some reporters purportedly declined to make the ill-fated trip to Ho after sighting the bus in the morning of the trip.

According to a source at the presidency, the Flagstaff House regularly hired buses to convey journalists to the president’s assignments but the crashed vehicle was let out to them for the first time.

The source could not tell whether the Transport Department conducted thorough checks on the road worthiness of the vehicle, particularly the tyres, before going for it.

Injured Journalists

The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation’s Pascaline Amenyo Adadevoh and Napoleon Ato Kittoe of GTV, Patrick Biddah of the Enquirer and William Gyentu of Peace FM sustained various degrees of injury.

The rest were TV3’s Edward Frimpong  Kwabi and TV Africa’s reporter.

Media coordinator at the Flagstaff House, Victor Odoi, who was sitting beside the driver, also sustained injuries.

GJA’s Poor Leadership

In the aftermath of the accident, Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) President, Roland Affail Monney, who doubles as GBC’s Director of Radio, in seeking to investigate the issue, tended to believe what the presidency told him more than the account of his own members who were victims of the accident.

He had said that after meeting with the Chief of Staff - who did not take part in the trip – Mr Monney was convinced that the driver was not over-speeding, contrary to the account of his members who were the real victims.

Nuamah Goes Home

The mortal remains of the late Nuamah are expected to be laid to rest at the Osu Cemetery today.

President Mahama is expected to lead the government’s delegation to the funeral at the State House, Accra.