Hundreds of angry fishermen and other residents of Sekondi-Takoradi have gathered at the Sekondi Police Station demanding the immediate release of the Chief Fisherman who is currently in cell.
Most of these fishermen could be seen singing war songs on the premises of the Police Station while officers looked on.
They have vowed only to back out when the Chief Fisherman is released.
The Chief Fisherman, Nana Panyin Yena, is said to have been arrested and arraigned following the lynching of a young man believed to be a thief at Betumagyebu in Sekondi about a year ago.
The Chief Fisherman together with two others were granted bail after their appearance at the Sekondi District court.
“The court granted them GHC80,000 bail with two sureties on Thursday, 6th June 2024. On that same evening, we fulfilled the bail conditions and submitted them to the court the following day. After all this, the police have refused to bail them. They are telling us unless officers come from Accra, they will not be released and we don’t understand. Today is June 11 and they are still in the cell”, Silvia Idun, one of the angry protesters told Connect FM.
According to the fishermen, they would not allow their leader to spend another night in the police cell since they had met all the bail conditions stipulated by the court.
“We shall continue to demonstrate at the police station until they release him. We are unable to go to sea because he is not around to manage affairs for us. We are not going anywhere today”, Nana Botwe added.
They are calling on the Inspector General of Police to intervene before the issue escalates. Efforts to reach out to the Police for response proved unsuccessful.
Story: Eric Gyetuah/Connect FM
