Manslaughter is defined as the crime of killing a human
being without malice, forethought, or otherwise in circumstances not amounting
to outright murder.
With the above definition in mind, let’s go back in time. Some
time ago, during the past year, a truck driver noticed that his Road Worthiness
Certificate was about to expire. These days it was not easy being a driver of
an articulated truck. There was a lot of competition for the business of transporting
goods and containers around the country. Margins were thin and the owner of his
truck was putting a lot of pressure on him to increase revenue. Every little
bit of money saved, counted. The last thing he wanted was a policeman stopping
him on the highway and “fining” him for an expired Road Worthiness Certificate.
Mr Kojo Truck Driver aka Kargo Brent, found some time and
drove to the DVLA office. As soon as he drove into the DVLA office, he was
accosted by the so called “goro boys”. They were offering a Fast Track service
where the renewal of his Road Worthiness Certificate would be expedited through
the normally slow inspection process. For an ordinary truck driver, this was
too tempting to refuse. For a few more Ghana Cedi’s, he could have his Road
Worthiness Certificate extended for another year in less than 20 minutes. He
looked through the sea of faces under his window and selected Kofi Goro. At
once Kofi Goro knew that he was going to get enough money to feed his family
for another day.
Under a fan in the offices of the DVLA, Mr Kwasi Safety
Inspector was doing his calculations. He had a lot on his mind. He had school
fees to contend with, his building project at Ashiaman required an injection of
cash to take it to the next level and his mistress needed chop money for the
next month. He had also been rejecting calls from the village. In the midst of
his mental deliberations, Kofi Goro walked up to his desk, saluted him and
stood at attention. At once Kwasi’s immediate future brightened. A truck
required fast track service. And the driver was willing and able to pay for it.
Kwasi Safety asked where the truck was and Kofi Guru pointed through the
windows, to one of the trucks parked in the yard.
Some “goro” exchanged hands, Kwasi Safety got up reluctantly,
wore his white overalls and sauntered over to the truck. He walked around the
truck once and then looked at the tires. His professional training told him
that the tires needed replacing urgently. He looked around and asked who the
driver was. Kargo Brent raised his hands respectfully. In a stern voice, Kwasi
Safety told Kargo Brent to make sure that he changed his tires as soon as
possible. He then walked back to his office and in 15 minutes time, Kargo Brent’s
certificate had been processed and renewed. Needless to say, once his Road
Worthiness Certificate had been renewed, Kargo Brent did not bother to change
his tires.
Fast forward to last Saturday, near the SCC junction at
Kasoa, when a truck lost a tire and the driver lost control. The truck veered
off its path and run into a passenger vehicle disgorging it’s passengers by the
roadside. 4 Ghanaians, going about their normal day to day business, lost their
lives. 17 – 20 more were injured and are currently receiving treatment at Korle
Bu hospital. Kwasi Safety and Kofi Goro heard the news on the radio and did not
give it a second thought. But unbeknownst to them, they had been unwitting
accomplices to this particular incident of manslaughter on Ghana’s roads. By
their actions or inactions, they allowed a particular sequence to unfold,
resulting in the inadvertent deaths of their fellow Ghanaians.
A Police investigation will ensue. If we are lucky, the
newspapers will report that the driver would have been arrested and charged.
This will bring closure, Ghanaian style, to the entire saga. The vehicle owner
will get his vehicle back. He will get a couple of second hand tires, give them
to a roadside vulcanizer to fix, repair the truck, find another driver and the
entire cycle will repeat itself in less than a years time, when the next vehicle
inspection is due.
Kwasi Safety would have moved his building project to the
next level. His children would have completed another year in school and school
fees would be due again. Kofi Goro would also be parading the yard of the DVLA,
touting for his next job. Kwasi Safety had a supervisor. His supervisor had a
boss ,whose boss was a Minister. That Minister had a President. And the buck
stops with the President. He should have made sure that measures were in place
to ensure that Kwasi Safety carried out that inspection and failed the truck
because of its tires. And Kwasi Safety and co, should have continued to fail
the truck until the tires were replaced with tires that would last another year
on our roads.
Somewhere out there, in Ghana, the next set of victims will
be going about their normal business, unaware of their impending fate at the
merciless hands of this vicious cycle of manslaughter. As a maverick social
commentator is reputed to have said, by way of natural disasters, America has
its tornadoes, Japan its earthquakes, Asia it’s tsunami’s and Africa its
leaders.
I rest my case.
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