"Arrest the teacher who forced the 17-year-old student to climb a coconut tree" - Lawyer says after student dies




A human rights lawyer, Francis Sosu, says police must arrest and investigate the teacher whose actions led to the death of 17-year-old Richard Djamgba.

The teenage student of Suhum Aboabo Sonkor Presbyterian Basic School fell from a tree after his teacher, known only as “Sir Johnson” forced him to climb a coconut tree to pluck a fruit for him.

Richard Djamgba’s fall left him paralyzed for many weeks, but he died over the weekend due to complications from his paralysis.

His uncle Samuel Narh told Joy News the police asked the family to go settle the issue at home when the case was reported to them.

The Suhum police told Mr Narh that they are unsure which charge to proffer against the teacher.

However, Francis Sosu says the police’s stance is unacceptable.

According to the lawyer, the teacher should have been held for criminal negligence.

He said the right thing the police should have done was to first arrest ‘Sir Johnson’, investigate the matter before concluding that they could charge him.

He is convinced criminal negligence is a strong enough charge against the teacher.

“There are times that you do things that cause effect…things that if you had taken reasonable care would not have caused that event. So if the teacher had taken reasonable care, the action wouldn’t have caused the damages that the little boy suffered”, he said.
My Joy Online