Taxi driver gets brand new car for heroic act

The management of Koala Supermarkets has presented a brand new Chevrolet Optra saloon car to Nana Yaw, the taxi driver who foiled a robbery attack on an employee of the supermarket at Cantonments in Accra on January 9, 2016.

The presentation was made in fulfilment of a promise made by the management of the supermarket to reward the taxi driver who saved Ms Lydia Horsu, the employee who was shot in the attack.

Koala officials said the gesture was to encourage the driver and others to offer help to victims of critical situations.

Nana Yaw is also to receive a house from the government as a reward, while the Police Administration has pledged to repair his taxi which got damaged during the rescue act.

The police have also promised to reward all those who contributed to the arrest of the two armed robbers.

The Director of Koala, Mr Imad Wolley, who handed over the car keys to Nana Yaw at a ceremony at the Koala Supermarket at the Airport Residential Area in Accra yesterday, thanked Nana Yaw for his outstanding bravery which saved Ms Horsu.

He called on the public to be one another’s keeper, particularly in such situations, and work hand in hand with the police to curb the menace of armed robbery to make society safer for all. 

He also thanked President John Mahama for his promise to reward Nana Yaw with a house for his bravery.

Nana Yaw

Receiving the keys, the driver, who could not hold back his tears, knelt down, lifted his hands and thanked God for blessing him.

He said he was overwhelmed by the reaction of the public following the incident and thanked the government, the management of Koala for fulfilling its promise, the police and the public for their show of appreciation and words of encouragement.

Assessment of shops

The Marketing and Public Relations Manager of Koala, Ms Christal Beeko, recalled the events that led to the incident and said on that day, Saturday, January 9, 2016, Ms Horsu, who is an assistant administrator, had been assigned to run routine checks on Koala’s Osu and Cantonments shops.

She explained that the assignment did not involve the collection of money and its deposit at the bank.

Ms Beeko stressed that employees of the Koala Supermarket were never sent to the bank with plastic bags to deposit money in the manner described on social media.

“The supermarket employs a unique and safe mechanism which, to the best of our ability, does not put the lives of our employees at risk,” she added.

She said Ms Horsu first visited the Osu branch and continued to the Cantonments branch, after which she decided to go to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle before returning to her office at the Airport Residential Area. 

It was on her way to Circle that she was attacked by two armed men riding on an unregistered motorbike near the American Embassy.

Ms Beeko said Ms Horsu was asked for her bag and was shot twice in the leg.  

She also explained that administrators undertaking routine checks were normally assigned company vehicles for the purpose, but on that day Ms Horsu had to do with a taxi because the vehicle assigned her was unavailable.

On behalf of the management of Koala, she thanked the Ghana Police Service for its swift response to the incident. 

Arrests

Following the incident, four persons, including the supervisor of the Cantonments branch of the Koala Supermarkets, have been arrested.

They are Gilbert Osabutey, the supervisor; his accomplices Doe Ahiatafu, a security man; Stanley Obaleko, alias Suleiman Mohammed, a Nigerian, and Oko Quarcoo, a Ghanaian.

The supervisor and his accomplices are said to have masterminded the robbery which was foiled by the taxi driver.

The two robbers who suffered serious bone fractures are currently on admission at the Police Hospital.