#GhanaWebRoadSafety: Widow of 'okada' driver crushed to death on highway speaks

Correspondence from Eastern Region

As part of GhanaWeb's road safety awareness campaign, we visited the marital home of 38-year-old Magdalene Dzotorgbe at Avenorkope, a suburb of Frankadua in the Asuogyaman District.

Her husband, Mawuli Ganyo, a 32-year-old okada rider, was buried only three days ago having suffered multiple injuries when he was crushed by a

Read full articlespeeding vehicle in March this year while riding his motorbike.

The couple had two young children aged eleven and ten years.

The deceased had visited his wife that afternoon at her house and returned to work, little did they know that was their last meeting and good-bye messages to each other.

Minutes later, Magdalene received the news that would change her life and that of her children forever.

“I was at home when my husband visited me and later told me he was returning to work. Four minutes later, people rushed to inform me that my husband had been knocked down by a vehicle," Magdalene Dzotorgbe told GhanaWeb.

“I rushed there only to find my husband lying lifeless with blood oozing out of his mouth and nose and he was rushed to the hospital. Later, I was told my husband was no more,” she recounted.

Now, catering for her two little daughters in lower primary with scanty proceeds from her sewing business, she anticipates difficult times.

“My husband was the breadwinner for the house and now that he’s no more, life is going to be difficult. I’d be grateful to receive some assistance for their welfare,” she said.

Magdalene described the late Ganyo as a calm and very hardworking person, adding that his death would adversely affect them.

She appealed to drivers to slow down whilst driving and also called on authorities at the Asuogyaman District Assembly and the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) to ensure that speed humps were fixed on the highway to save lives.

An uncle to Mawuli Ganyo, Francis Adamprah also described what happened on that fateful day.

“Those who witnessed the incident told us that he went to visit his wife and upon his return [to work], he realized that there was a vehicle approaching, he thought he’ll bypass that lorry [one ahead of him] before the lorry would reach him," he said.

Adding: “Before he realized, a different vehicle approaching from behind him at top speed knocked him down.”

He also accused the District Motor Traffic and Transport Division of the (MTTD) of failing to conduct due diligence in investigating the cause of the accident.

Mr. Adamprah further discounted police reports which rather implicated their deceased son as being the cause of the accident.

According to him, the driver who knocked down Ganyo and his family have failed to support the widow and her children even after promising to do so.



“They [driver’s family] told us on the phone that they would come and see the wife and the children and tell us what plans they have for them. Up till now, we haven’t seen them.”

A cousin to Ganyo, 42-year-old Zakpo Francis and a driver at Juapng Textiles Limited, also suffered serious leg injuries on that road on March 1, 2021.

A hit and run speeding vehicle rammed into his motorbike before police officers who were conducting routine checks on vehicles at Frankadua.

Francis fractured his right ankle in the accident and currently walks with the aid of crutches.

The accident, he said, has affected his working life as he is now unable to work to enable him to cater for his family.