Two of the four individuals charged for their roles in the Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) 001 train accident on the Tema-Mpakadan railway have been remanded into prison custody.
The accused, Kokuo Koudjo, a gas welder, and Patrick Kwaku Sosu, were granted bail but have been unable to meet the bail conditions and were being held by the police.
During proceedings on Monday, December 16, 2024, state prosecutors requested that the court commit the two to prison custody, a request the court granted.
Koudjo and Sosu, along with Alaza Prosper and Emmanuel Fiadugbe, a labourer, have been charged with abetting the accident, which caused significant damage to the train.
Earlier this year, in April, the truck driver involved in the incident, Dzidotor Abel, was sentenced to six months in jail and fined GH¢1,200 after pleading guilty.
The case has been adjourned to January 9, 2025.
Case Background
The brief facts of the case as presented by Christabel Selma Anafure, an Assistant State Attorney, (ASA) were that the Complainant Dr. Divine Olutey is an Engineer at the Ghana Railways Corporation.
Whilst, the first accused person Kokuo Koudjo (A1) is a gas wielder, Patrick Kwaku Sosu, (A2), Alaza Prosper (A3) and Fiadugbe Emmanuel (A4) are labourers.
The ASA said on April 18, 2024, between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm, the accused persons were on board a Hyundai Gold truck with registration number GS 9018-20, driven by one Dzidotor Abel (now a convict).
She said, that preliminary investigations revealed that the 1st accused bought some blocks from a block factory at Juapong and conveyed the same to Abortia using the underpass of the railway lines.
The State Prosecutor said the first accused was in the vehicle together with the other accused persons.
According to her, after discharging the blocks at the first accused’s site, they decided to avoid the under bridge and cross the railway lines with their vehicle.
She stated that all the accused persons being fully aware that the railway lines were inaccessible to motor vehicles still decided to use the railway lines as a shortcut to get to Juapong.
She told the Court that, when they arrived at the railway lines and realized that it was impossible to cross over the railway tracks, they decided to gather stones from the sides of the tracks, which they placed on the railway lines to serve as a path for the truck to cross over.
However, the truck still got stuck on the railway line, and “the accused persons tilted the head of the truck and left the scene without providing any warning for trains plying the tracks.”
She said, “Investigations have disclosed that there is no access route across the railway tracks to the Juapong road.”
The ASA said “Even if the truck had successfully crossed the railway, “a big gutter and a stream to the west side of the railway lines would have prevented the accused persons from joining the Akuse-Juapong road.”
The Prosecution said on the same day, the Management of Ghana Railways Company, led by the complainant and including 28 engineers from Ghana and Poland embarked on a test run of the new Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) 001 Train from Tema to Mpakadan.
She said, the test run had been announced ahead of time and that when the train got to the Abotia area, it rammed into the Hyundai Gold truck which was stuck across the railway lines.
Both the train and the truck got damaged.
“The train was sent to Tema for examination, while the scrap of the vehicle, which was damaged beyond repairs was taken to the Juapong police station for further action,” she stated.
She told the Court that, on April 19, 2024, the driver, Dzidotor Abel was arrested and arraigned before the Circuit Court in Juapong presided over by His Honour Proper Deu-love Gomashie, where he pleaded guilty to three out of four counts.
He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment.
