Some residents of Denkyira Obuasi in the Central Region fear the erection of a statue in memory of the late Major Maxwell Mahama who was murdered exactly a year ago will remind them of the unpleasant circumstance.
They say they cannot stand the site of a statue of the fallen soldier.
“Please leave us alone, we are afraid, our children will even run when they see it”, Auntie Afiba, a resident pleads, referring to a statue of the late Major Mahama.
Major Mahama, who was an officer with the 5th Infantry Battalion, was lynched and his body partly burnt by some youth of Denkyira-Obuasi – now New Obuasi – in the Central Region on Monday, May 29, 2017 on suspicion that he was an armed robber.
Fourteen suspects are currently standing trial for various offences including murder. But family of the deceased believes the suspects could be more and is thus demanding justice.
As part of activities marking the first anniversary of the fallen soldier, the state will later Tuesday, May 29, organize a sod cutting ceremony for the construction of a monument at Airport Hills Roundabout in Accra.
There are also calls from some quarters of the military who will not go on record demanding the erection of a statue at Denkyira Obuasi in the memory of the slain soldier.
TV3 news interaction with some of the residents of the town a year on however reveals that some residents are not particularly enthused with such calls.
Angelina Brago-Anim, another resident, expressed some dissent, stating that there is already fear among the people and the erection of a statue in the town will only compound their woes.
“Fear has gripped us and the events linger on. Erecting a statue? That is pressure on us”, she stated.
Chief Linguist, Okyeame Kwabena Asare, also shares the same sentiments that a statue of the slain soldier will terrify the people of the town.
“With the statue, we will recall the body, when we see his body, fear will grip us”, he observed.
However, a retired soldier, Issaka Suleymana, also a resident thinks otherwise. For him erecting a statue will serve a historical purpose.
“The statue being there to me is very very good so that any time even their grandchildren should come out should deliver and then come to the town they will know that yes my old men have done this before (sic)”, he said.
Father of the late soldier, Retired Captain Denis Mahama, announced on TV3 and 3FM Monday, May 28, that there would also be a church service and wreath laying at the Osu Military Cemetery.
Source: 3news.com