Who let Goka out?

Author: Ato Kwamena Dadzie

It's hard to believe that Private Seth Goka, one of the three soldiers, standing trial for the murder of Alhaji Issa Mobila just got up and walked out of the military detention facility he was being kept in. He must have been helped. That's my gut feeling.

Alhaji Issa Mobila, who was the Northern Regional chairman of the CPP, died in military custody in December 2004. The circumstances surrounding his death are shrouded in mystery. All we know is that he was brutally beaten until he died. Details of his arrest and who ordered it are still sketchy. His family, his political party and the Ghanaian public need to know exactly what happened and why it happened. Justice must be served.

It has taken rather too long for the suspects to be even brought to trial. So for the army to just come out and tell us in a nonchalant manner that one of the suspects has absconded is insulting, to say the least.

In court, one of the officers who brought the suspects before the judge tried to cover things up by saying that Private Goka had gone away without leave. It was only after they had been pressed to explain that another officer told the truth that he had actually escaped from custody.

The judge couldn't hide his anger as he ordered the military to make sure that Private Goka appears in court on November 26th. Don't hold your breath. I'd be surprised if he has not been offered some sort of safe passage. And justice is still a long way off for Mobilla and his family. In the meantime, whoever let Goka go should be found and punished.

Credit: Ato Kwamena Dadzie(www.atokd.com)