News
‘Ingenious’ operators turn pragya into ‘chamber and hall’
Neccessity is the mother of invention, is a well known proverb which means difficult situations inspire ingenious solutions.
Some Rickshaw (pragya or Mahama can do) drivers at Alabar, suburb of Kumasi in the Ashanti Regional Capital, have turned their rickshaws into “chamber and a hall” and sleep in them at night.
And to make the place very comfortable for them to enjoy the night, these smart youngmen cover the rickshaws with insecticide treated bed nets to keep mosquitoes away from interfering with their sleep.
They, however, use the pragya to convey passengers during the day and use them as rooms at night.
The photographs depict riders living in the populated community with open gutters which breed a lot of mosquitoes.
Issahaku Mohammed, a rider who spoke with The SPECTATOR said, “it is for our own safety and a form of personal protection which has reduced malaria in the area.”
He said, they usually spent much time taking fresh air outside during the night, and in order not to be bitten by mosquitoes he used the bed nets as form of protection.
According to him, the bed nets served also as a barrier to prevent children from having access to the tricycles when they were left outside.
Hudu Zakaria, a scrap dealer also said he had been “sleeping in the tricycle under a treated mosquito net for the past three years” because he did not have accommodation.
He said, the insecticides used for treating bed nets “repel and kill mosquitoes, as well as other insects.”
Madam Agnes Amankwah, a retired nurse and a Licensed Over-the-Counter drug store owner in the area said “the protection that a mosquito net provides against malaria doubles when the net is treated with insecticide.”
She added that, the chemical used to treat the net would lose its effect if it was over exposed in the open and advised the people to change the nets as frequently as possible to make them effective in malaria prevention.
From Geoffrey Buta, Kumasi
A 30-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour by the Bekwai Circuit Court for his role in a 2022 robbery at a mining site at Manso Akwasiso in the Ashanti South Region.
The convict, Dominic Ofori, also known as Fanta, was arrested on 16th February 2026 after years on the run. He pleaded guilty before the Bekwai Circuit Court to robbery contrary to Section 149 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 Act 29, and was accordingly sentenced to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour.
On March 20, 2022, the Manso Adubia District Police received intelligence that a group of armed men from Manso Abodom were planning to attack a mining site at Manso Akwasiso to rob the owner of gold concentrate. Acting on the information, police mounted a coordinated operation and laid an ambush at the site.
At about 5:30 pm the same day, four-armed men arrived at the site, fired indiscriminately, and robbed the miners of their gold concentrate. The police team on surveillance intervened, resulting in an exchange of gunfire.
Three of the suspects, Abu Abubakar, Musah Latif, and Gideon Takyi, sustained gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead on arrival at St Martins Catholic Hospital at Agroyesum. Dominic Ofori escaped at the time but was later arrested and put before the court.
The Ashanti South Regional Police Command has assured the public of its continued commitment to combating violent crimes and bringing offenders to justice.
The Ashanti Regional Police Command has arrested 45-year-old Isaac Boafo, also known as “Duabo King,” for allegedly publishing false news intended to cause fear and panic.
Police said the arrest follows a viral TikTok video in which Boafo claimed that four officers at the Central Police Station in Kumasi engaged in inappropriate conduct with commercial sex workers during night patrols in Asafo.
Officers from the Police Intelligence Directorate (Ashanti Region) apprehended Boafo after receiving intelligence about the video.
During questioning, he admitted to creating the video to attract views and engagement online, and acknowledged that he could not prove the allegations.
Boafo also admitted making comments about the President of the Republic for content purposes and could not defend those statements.
He has been formally charged and is in detention as investigations continue.
The Ashanti Regional Police have warned the public against publishing or sharing false information on social media, noting that such acts can cause fear, panic, and damage reputations.
They said anyone found engaging in similar conduct will face legal action.
By: Jacob Aggrey
