Police officer charged with murder over death of law student Ivan Apprey Baidoo

Pinned summary · as of 04:21

General Corporal Robert Koranteng, a police officer, has been charged with murder in connection with the death of Ivan Apprey Baidoo, a 20-year-old law student. Baidoo died on 27 August on the Tema Motorway after an incident involving a police pursuit of a motorbike. No conviction has been recorded, and the accusations against the officer remain unproven.

What we know

• A murder charge has been brought against Koranteng in relation to the death of Ivan Apprey Baidoo, a 20-year-old law student. He has not been convicted.
• Baidoo died on 27 August on the Tema Motorway. Onua Online and YEN.com.gh both linked his death to a police chase involving a motorbike.
• The Police Service identified and interdicted the officer concerned, according to Baidoo's father, Evans Baidoo, and YEN.com.gh.
• Baidoo has been laid to rest, with reports of a burial service attended by relatives, friends and well-wishers.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Baidoo's family alleged that he was killed by a policeman on the Tema Motorway. Onua Online reported the allegation that the officer shoved the motorbike, while YEN.com.gh reported that prosecutors alleged he kicked it. Reports therefore differ on how the motorbike was struck, and none of these accounts has been tested in court.
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  Prosecutors alleged that the rider went through a red light at the UPSA intersection where Koranteng was on duty, and that after the Old Tollbooth the officer's kick sent the motorbike into a concrete barrier before he left without helping. This account comes from YEN.com.gh alone.
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  YEN.com.gh reported that the Criminal Investigations Department took over the case on 8 September after a family petition, that Koranteng was arrested and interdicted on 12 September, and that he was charged on 15 September, remanded without a plea and returned to court on 29 September. It said the outcome of that hearing had not emerged when it reported. No other report confirms these dates.
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  YEN.com.gh, citing a video shared by Gossips24 TV, reported that Baidoo's mother confronted relatives of Koranteng at the Adabraka District Court. This has not been confirmed by other reports.
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  Onua Online reported that Evans Baidoo pledged cooperation with the police on behalf of the family and said the burial would not halt their search for justice. It also reported that the 2024 year group of Adisadel College, through its spokesperson Ebenezer Bortey Borketey, said it would monitor the investigation and demanded a full-scale investigation. These reactions come from one report.

Why it matters for Ghana

A murder charge against a serving police officer, now before the courts, will be followed closely by families and road users who want clarity on how deaths linked to police chases are handled. For the Baidoo family and his former schoolmates, the outcome of the case is the focus of their calls for justice. Until a court rules, the accusations against the officer remain unproven and he is presumed innocent.