Bishop Salifu Amoako, the father of the 16-year-old boy whose reckless driving led to the horrific burning to ashes of two girls in East Legon on Saturday, October 12, 2024, has asked people to desist from making a mountain out of a molehill over the incident.
According to him, it was an accident and should not be treated differently from any other one. Mr. Salifu Amoako suggested the tragedy caught the attention of nearly the entire nation because the person involved bears his name.
Speaking to his congregation at Alive Chapel International on Sunday, October 20, Bishop Amoako jumped to the defence of his 16-year-old son, stressing that the accident was an unfortunate event and not something the son carried out intentionally.
He reminded Ghanaians to stop the sensationalism over the matter since it is a legal issue and it is up to the police and the legal system to deal with it.
“It was an accident. My son did not carry a gun to kill anybody. He involved himself in a terrible accident, and I am not the one who did it, nor his mother. It is my name, that is why people are talking”. Bishop Amoako stated.
This comment of the pastor did not sit well with many sections of the public, considering the fact that, days earlier, he released a video pleading for forgiveness, especially from the girls’ families.
Many Ghanaians take keen interest in this unfortunate accident leading to the demise of the girls partly due to a number of reasons; first, the accident was caused by a boy who is not supposed to be driving. The second point is that, the father of the boy is a popular religious leader in the country. Another factor is that, the gory accident was fully captured on CCTV camera and rescue effort was showed live on social media.
Worst of all the reasons, in my opinion is that, people got more agitated when old videos of Bishop Salifu Amoako popped up online and he was bragging about how he could flout driving related laws and no authority in the country could dare question him. Old videos of extremely reckless driving by his son also came up which made people to conclude it was not the first time he was allowed to engage in such unlawful, dangerous adventure.
The two girls, Maame and Justine were remembered and honoured with an all-white candlelight vigil held on Friday, October 18, 2024 at the site of the accident. It was truly an emotional and sorrowful moment for families, friends and community members who gathered to pay their last respect through touching tributes and silent reflection.
