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Youth activist and social commentator, Ivan Innocent Kyei, has condemned in no uncertain terms, the alleged brutality to death of 23-year-old Godfred Okai by the police at Kasoa.

He says the police and all other institutions for that matter should allow the rule of law to prevail over emotions of officers who trade the ethics of their professions for personal vendettas.

In a Facebook post criticising the death of Master Okai in the custody of the Kasoa Divisional police command, Mr. Kyei said “criminals [must be made to] face the full brunt of the law and not the fury of ceremonial hooligans in uniform.”

READ ALSO: Kasoa: MoMo robbery suspect dies in police custody, family accuses officers of murder

In as much as he supports the punishment of criminals as prescribed by law, he says the mere accusation of a person doesn’t make him guilty until a competent court of jurisdiction has proven so.

Godfred was picked by the police as part of persons suspected to be part of a gang of robbers who shot a MoMo vendor and made away with his money at Adam Nana, a suburb of Kasoa in the Central region.

Five days after his arrest, the police informed the family that he has passed away.

Read below the full comments made by Ivan Kyei on the incident. 

#Heartbreaking: I still wonder why in a so-called civilised democratic dispensation like ours, suspects or individuals perceived to have committed one crime or the other continue to die in police custody after being subjected to endless cruelty and inhumane treatments; all in the name of forcing or extracting confessions from them.

The count is overly disturbing, very sad, all right thinking men in society are quiet over this ugly development.

I think these silly acts of barbarism are not only antithetical to the principles of natural justice but also pose a grave danger to everyone in the sense that, you may be the next innocent victim who didn’t get the chance to fight his innocence in the court, because the police killed you in custody.

This is the danger we all face, and until it happens to someone so dear or close to you, you may regard these rampant occurrences as normal trends.

I hate crimes and have always argued that, criminals must be made to face the full consequences of their acts but I don’t support or subscribe to any form or kind of extrajudicial killings by either the police or any other institution because a suspect may be either guilty or innocent and therefore deserves a chance to be thoroughly examined by a court of competent jurisdiction.

It’s the duty of the state to ensure that criminals face the full brunt of the law and not the fury of ceremonial hooligans in uniform who are awkwardly orientated to the standards and ethics of modern policing.

It is very embarrassing to note that some of our guys in uniform hold a firm belief that suspects are as guilty as hell and must be paid back in custody, a conviction which is primitive and unprofessional.

The President must act swiftly to ensure that these disturbing concerns of the public are thoroughly investigated to allay the fears of many. I’m Ivan Kyei Innocent, and I’m no cynic.

By Felix Anim-Appau|Onuaonline.com