Today marks exactly 15 years since the Managing Director of Sand Gardens Hotel, Sylvester Opoku, survived a violent attack in Bolgatanga, capital of Ghana’s Upper East region.
Some eyewitnesses strongly believed the act was an assassination attempt on the life of the young philanthropist.
The raid took place at the hotel on the morning of Sunday, 30 November 2008, shortly after janitors had cleaned the premises.
The assailants, numbering about 20, appeared at the front gate of the hotel at about 7:30 a.m. They looked like strangers in search of accommodation until they pulled out arms and ordered the hotel’s security officers to open the gate and produce the managing director.
The officers declined and, as the attackers began to force the gate open and ordered the security men to produce Mr Opoku, fled the place together with some other staff out of fear.
The invaders later managed to force the gate open but Mr Opoku had left the premises through the back gate. They went away after they failed to find their target.
“I was in my office when I heard a sudden noise outside. So, I came out only to see the men around the gate, looking frightening and trying to come into the yard by force.
“I couldn’t go back to the office. I just scaled the wall and ran away,” a front desk officer, Patrick Apana, told Rock FM, a private media outlet based in Bolgatanga at the time but is now defunct.
Law enforcers from the District Police Command in Bolgatanga arrived at the scene later and engaged eyewitnesses.
Mr Opoku was not immediately available to newsmen for comment. It was widely suspected that a disgruntled relative, who wanted to take over the hotel which was bequeathed to Mr Opoku by his father (now late), plotted the attack.
The development sparked a wave of public condemnation and fear for Mr Opoku’s security. Mr Opoku is well-known in the region for his humanitarian concerns and assistance to poor people. He was also a patron to several youth-centred development programmes aired on radio stations in the region.
Many of the youth who benefited from the programmes, which Mr Opoku sponsored and to which he was a patron, have turned into successful adults and are occupying big positions in society today.
The radio stations were Style FM, Rock FM and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).
As public concerns about his security grew, Mr Opoku was advised to relocate to any area he considered safe and far enough from the unidentified assailants.
Heeding the advice, Mr Opoku left the property and relocated with his family outside the country.
Several development watchers say the hotel was ranked among the fastest-growing and sought-after hospitality establishments in the region when Mr Opoku was in charge as the managing director years ago and would have turned into one of the region’s major landmarks today if he was still at the helm of affairs.
Many observers are of the view that the police did not act as expected when Mr Opoku came under the threat and the justice system failed him, forcing him to relocate.
Source: Media Without Borders/mwbonline.org/Ghana
