‘Who did this to you and what was your crime?’ – Father grives over late Ivan Baidoo

The father of 20-year-old law student Ivan Apprey Baidoo has spoken publicly about his son’s death, saying the circumstances surrounding it have left him traumatised and demanding answers.

Speaking at Ivan’s burial service on Saturday, 19 September, Evans Baidoo said the memory of seeing his son’s body continued to haunt him.

“Seeing your lifeless body on a stretcher still traumatises me. The circumstances of your sudden demise make me…” he said, as he struggled to contain his emotions.

Mr Baidoo said he believed his son had been killed rather than dying in an accident.

“Your sudden demise has left me inconsolable. You did not die, son; you were murdered. Brutally murdered by a police officer paid with your parents’ taxes to protect you,” he said.

He also questioned what had led to his son’s death.

“Who did this to you, and what was your crime?” he asked.

Ivan, a law student at Central University, left his home in Old Ashongman on 27 August to play football with friends at the East Legon Astroturf Park.

According to prosecutors, he was travelling as a passenger on a Yango motorcycle ridden by Samuel Wesley Arthur when the incident occurred.

The prosecution alleges that Mr Arthur went through a red light at the UPSA intersection, where General Corporal Robert Katey Koranteng was on duty.

It says the officer pursued the motorcycle and signalled the rider to stop, but the motorcycle continued through the Okponglo traffic light and the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange before entering the Tema Motorway.

The prosecution further alleges that near the old toll booth, Corporal Koranteng kicked the motorcycle while pursuing it, causing the rider to lose control and crash into a concrete barrier.

Ivan sustained serious injuries, including head injuries, broken ribs and internal bleeding, according to the account provided to the court.

The prosecution also alleges that the officer did not stop or arrange immediate medical assistance for the victims before leaving the scene.

Corporal Koranteng, 34, who was stationed with the Traffic Management Enforcement Unit at Police Headquarters in Accra, has been interdicted by the Ghana Police Service.

He has been arraigned before the Adabraka District Court and charged in connection with Ivan’s death.

The prosecution says he intentionally caused Ivan’s death by unlawful harm, contrary to Section 46 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

The charges remain allegations and have not been proven in court.

As the family lays Ivan to rest, his father says he is left with grief and unanswered questions over the circumstances that led to his son’s death.