Ejura: Residents protest over killing of social media activist

Some residents in Ejura in the Ashanti Region have poured onto the streets to protest the death of a social activist, Ibrahim Muhammed.

The deceased, believed to be a sympathiser of the Economic Fighters League, and recently the #FixTheCountry movement, died after he was allegedly beaten to a pulp by some unknown persons in the early hours of Saturday, June 26, 2021, in front of his house.

His family says he was threatened prior to the attack because he has been highlighting some pertinent issues within his community.

Following his passing, some residents marched through the principal streets of Ejura and urged the security agencies to, as a matter of urgency, arrest the perpetrators.

Clad in red head and armbands amidst the chanting of war songs, the distraught residents also held placards with various inscriptions to seek justice for their fellow resident.

“The deceased received death threats for his activism on the refuse dump situation. He was being forced to stop highlighting the ills in the area. We are unable to point fingers at those behind the act. But we will revenge if the perpetrators are not arrested,” one of the protestors said.

Another mentioned that “the police and other security agencies should use the death threats as evidence to get those involved in the heinous crime arrested.”

Ibrahim Muhammed was allegedly attacked by a mob at about 1:30 am on Saturday, June 26, 2021.

His shout for help drew the attention of some residents of Sabonline, a Zongo community in the Ejura township, but they came in late to find him lying unconscious.

Ibrahim Muhammed, alias Macho Kaaka, was quickly rushed to the Ejura Sekyeredumase District Hospital.

After assessing the degree of injuries sustained, he was referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

The activist finally gave up the ghost on Monday, June 28, 2021.

According to the family of the late Ibrahim Muhammed, he had been using social media to highlight challenges within Ejura, particularly abandoned government projects that he believes deserved attention from state actors.

They believe this action may have influenced some persons to attack him since he had been warned by some unknown persons prior to the attack.

Speaking to Citi News, the wife of the victim, Zahada Hudu, demanded justice for her late husband.

“In the early hours of Saturday, we heard a loud noise in the house. I thought my husband was driving goats away from the house at the time. Little did I know that he was being attacked. We saw him in a pool of blood. The people bolted as soon as we opened the door to check what was happening.”

“Before the attack, he told me that someone had warned him against posting some issues on social media. I even warned him to stop since that could lead to his death but he wouldn’t listen. I know the person that issued the warning to my husband. We want the police to thoroughly conduct investigations into it to ensure the perpetrators are arrested.”

Some reports have suggested that he once received an audio message cautioning him about his constant criticism of the government.

Meanwhile, the police in the area say they have begun investigations into the matter.

They however say they have not been able to make any arrest yet.

The police are thus asking residents to assist them with information that will lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.

The Ejura District Police Commander, DSP Philip Kwadwo Hammond, in a Citi News interview said “we received a distress call in the early hours of Saturday that a young man had been attacked by some unknown men. We got there and found him battling for his life. The suspects had escaped by then.”

“Surprisingly, the complainant could not help us with the identity of the suspects. So we have launched our own investigations. Very importantly, we implore any individual who may have any information that will help to get to the bottom of the matter to come forward. Their identities will be protected.”

Activism on Facebook

With the name Macho Kaaka on Facebook; citinewsroom.com found out that the deceased usually comments on local developmental issues as well as major issues of national interest.

His last Facebook post on Saturday; June 26, 2021, which is the day he was attacked, was specifically about the arrest of actress Efia Odo and other conveners of the FixTheCountry Movement at the court in Accra.

It was merely another person’s comment on that issue which he shared on his wall.

On June 17, 2021, he made a video post about the killing of the police officer in the Bullion van attack in Accra and called on the government to improve security for police officers and Ghanaians at large.

Before that, on June 14, 2021, he showed a live video of a road that was being fixed in his locality, while on June 13, 2021, he posted about the rising cost of fuel in Ghana.

He also had on his Facebook wall videos and posts of other social activists which he often shared.

Source: Citi