A routine patrol in the Kakum National Park Forest Reserve in the Central Region ended in tragedy on Saturday morning when a wildlife guard was allegedly shot dead by a suspected poacher in the forest fringed community of Kruwa in the Assin South District.
Chief Superintendent Edmund Agyemang Badu, Central North Regional Crime Officer, told the Ghana News Agency the deceased, attached to the Kakum Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission, was on patrol with two colleagues when they encountered two men hunting inside the protected forest.
He said preliminary police investigations indicated the forestry guards attempted to arrest the two suspected poachers, identified as Bukari Abudu and John Mensah, after finding them hunting in the reserve without lawful authority.
One of the suspects, Abudu, allegedly produced a single barrel gun and shot the guard, identified as Mr Richard Otwey, instantly killing him.
The suspects fled into the forest, but the timely arrival of a police patrol team pursued them and arrested Mensah, while a manhunt continued for the main suspect, Abudu, who is at large.
According to Chief Superintendent Badu, the Central North Command received information about the shooting at about 08:25 hours and proceeded to the scene with officials of the Forestry Commission’s Wildlife Division.
On arrival, the team found the body of Mr Otwey lying under a wawa tree, about 60 metres from the boundary of the reserve, with a gunshot wound to the chest.
The police said a search of the area recovered a spent cartridge, footprints and a single barrel gun, all of which had been preserved as exhibits.
The deceased’s body was subsequently conveyed to the Abura Dunkwa Government Hospital mortuary for preservation and further examination.
Chief Superintendent Badu appealed to members of the public to furnish information that could lead to the arrest of the fleeing suspect.
GNA
