The National Coordinator of the Landscape Restoration and Small-Scale Mining Projects, Dr. John Kingsley Krugu, has narrated a chilling account of how he escaped death by hair’s breadth at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region.
According to him, but for divine intervention, he would have been added to the stories of late Josephine Asante Tandoh, a former Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) staff and Abuakwa North MP, J.B Danquah whose mystery deaths have still not been solved.
He spoke to this reporter in his office in Accra on Thursday, August 31, 2023 during which he narrated how he escaped three-gun shots fired at close range into his bedroom.
Dr. Krugu, who is aspiring to be the MP for Zebilla Constituency on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party, stated that but for his calmness, he might have been hit by the bullets.
NARRATION TO THIS REPORTER
According to Dr. John Kingsley Krugu, we are conducting training of trainers for district mining committees and small-scale miners. We conducted one in Tarkwa, then in Koforidua and this week we are doing one in Bolgatanga for the Northern Sector.
So my team and I arrived in Bolga on Sunday. The training is taking place at the Extee Hotel in Bolgatanga. So, all the participants, including my team members from this office, are lodging at the Extee Crystal Hotel. But I am from Bolga, so I have a house in Bolga.
I decided that I was going to stay in my house with my driver. On Monday night, around 2a.m. I heard a ruffling sound at my window, which woke me up. I turned to look at what was happening and then I saw somebody holding a stick through the window and trying to pull the curtain in order to be able to see me well.
I first saw the stick and realised that below the stick he had put his hand through the burglar proof, and he was holding a pistol. When I saw the pistol, my heart jumped. But I did not panic. I did not make any noise. I moved towards the head of the bed, further away from where the gun was pointing to. The person noticed my movement so he fired the pistol.
I became very frightened and nearly fell off my bed,hitting myself against the wall.To my surprise there was another person standing behind a window and from that angle two gunshots were fired into the room, making it three shots in all.
At that moment, I could not describe the experience or the feeling, so I remained quiet in the room, stacked against the wall and the bed for some time. And then I noticed that the people had moved away. I then called a friend on the phone and when he answered, I dropped the call because I remembered that in basic security you do not talkin such circumstances. So I rather sent him a text.
The police patrol later arrived and rescued me and my driver, who was sleeping next door. The police took pictures of all the empty shells in the room, the stick that was used to pull the curtains up, and then took us to the Bolgatanga Central Police Station where they took my statement. They sent people to patrol the house, but we remained in the police station till daybreak.
INVESTIGATION
The incident, he stated, is under investigation by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Bolgatanga Central Police Station and the Bureau of National Investigations office in the Bolga East District.
He is hoping that the police will be able to have a good outcome from their investigation and not add to the list of investigations with no end in sight.
EXPERIENCE
He described the experience to The Chronicle as “very terrifying,” adding that Ghanaians should be perturbed, citing previous incidents.
“I am aware of the story of Fennec Okyere. J.B Danquah and Josephine Asante who were all allegedly killed,” he recalled.
He was happy for the luck that visited him and for him to be alive to tell the story of that horrific experience, which he would not wish for his worst enemy.
He said Ghanaians should be concerned about such incidents, as they do not augur well for the development of a nation.
Meanwhile, he intends to petition the National Security Minister, the Interior Minister, the Inspector General of Police and possibly Jubilee House over the matter.
He said he was not petitioning for himself only, but for the entire citizenry, as far as security is concerned.
POLITICS
The calm-looking politician could not attribute the issue to anything because “I do not have problems with anybody.”
Though he has filed to contest in the NPP parliamentary primaries in Zebilla, he said it was worrying for him to be allegedly targeted in his desire to represent the constituency democratically.
