Suspected yam thief shot dead; farmer arrested in Oti Region

The Dambai Divisional Police Command has arrested Kwabena Badam, a 35-year-old farmer, following the fatal shooting of a man suspected of attempting to steal yams from a farm at Abongo No. 1 in the Krachi East Municipality of the Oti Region.

The incident occurred at about 12: am on Saturday, July 25, and has triggered a police investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the unidentified man.

Preliminary information gathered by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) indicated that the deceased was allegedly caught on the farmer’s land, while attempting to steal a sack of yams. However, the farmer was alleged to have opened fire, killing the suspect instantly.

Sources told the GNA that the farmer had repeatedly complained about persistent theft of food crops from his farm and had on several occasions reported the matter to the police.

The GNA also gathered that shortly after the incident, the farmer voluntarily reported himself to the Dambai Divisional Police Command and informed officers about the shooting.

He was subsequently arrested and is currently assisting police with investigations.

Mr Philip Kwadwo Bidaba, Assembly Member for the Kwame-Akura East Electoral Area, told the GNA that he received a telephone call in the early hours of Sunday informing him that a suspected yam thief had been shot dead in the community.

He said he immediately proceeded to the Dambai Police Station, where he was informed that the suspected shooter had already reported himself to the police and had been taken into custody.

According to Mr Bidaba, residents later gathered at the police station in an attempt to identify the deceased.
He said he appealed to the police to allow the body bag to be opened to enable residents and community members to identify the deceased, but the request was declined.

“The body had already been secured in a body bag, making identification difficult. We pleaded with the police to allow residents to assist with identification, but they declined,” he said.

The GNA observed that police officers, accompanied by the Assembly Member and relatives of the shooter, later conveyed the body to the Worawora Government Hospital Mortuary in the Biakoye District for preservation and autopsy.

The identities of both the deceased and the farmer have not been officially disclosed by the police, pending formal identification of the deceased and the outcome of preliminary investigations.