Adomfe: Mother bids emotional farewell as policeman, family killed in apartment fire are buried

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Clad in her all-black apparel 66-year-old Cecelia Agyapomaa focused on staying quiet on Saturday morning. She suddenly screamed and wailed uncontrollably upon the arrival of two caskets in the Asante Akyem South Municipal town of Adomfe, where her 35-year-old son Sergeant Owusu Asante Baafi, who was with the Ghana Police Service would be laid to rest.

The other casket also contained the bodies of his 32-year-old wife, Millicent Akyaa Agyei, and the couple’s three-month-old child, Samuel Kwabena Baafi Nyamedo. The young family were killed in an apartment fire at Apromoase near Ejisu in the Ashanti Region early this year.

Agyapomaa is still in shock as she narrates how the untimely death of her fifth child reached her.

“So my son had called me on that fateful day because he had heard I was unwell. No sooner had we finished talking than my phone went off due to a blackout. And so I didn’t hear from him until about 5 am the next morning…

“I felt something had happened when my elders and some officials visited my home. A family member however took me to my room and broke the news to me. I questioned the whereabouts of my in-law and grandson only to be told they didn’t survive”, the grief-stricken mother told dailymailgh.com amid tears.

“I have lost a treasure and I know the family is in the Lord’s hands”, the woman said.

It was a difficult moment for colleagues and sympathizers as baby Samuel Kwabena Baafi Nyamedo was laid by his parents.

The coffin of the late officer with the Anti-Robbery Unit of the Ashanti Regional Police Command was wrapped in a Ghana Police Service flag with a service cap placed on it.

Senior Police Officers in a procession amidst a final gun salute at the cemetery escorted Mr and Mrs Baafi’s coffins.

In attendance to mourn with the family were the Director-General of Administration; COP Mr Christian Tetteh Yohunu, and the Director-General of Legal and Prosecution; COP. Mr Nathan Kofi Boakye and Director-General, Human Resource Development; COP Mr Frederick Adu Anim.

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah among others were also present.

The young family were killed in the fire incident which occurred on Sunday, January 15, 2023, at the Apromoase Police Barracks.

Meanwhile, all Police officers and their families have been relocated from apartments at a facility serving as the Apromase Police Barracks after a fire destroyed a floor of one of the three-storey buildings.

The evacuation announced by the IGP, Dr George Akuffo Dampare is to give way for a complete assessment of the building to ensure safety standards. Though the two other buildings were not affected by the fire, a similar assessment will be done on them.

A joint team of investigators from the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana National Fire Service was yet to complete their investigations.

SOURCE: DAILY MAIL GH/Adomonline.com contributed to this report