Robbery victim was not carrying money to bank - Koala

The management of Koala Supermarket has pledged to reward the taxi driver whose bravery led to the arrested of two suspected armed robbers on a motorbike.

The driver last Saturday rammed his taxi into two suspected armed robbers on a motorbike leading to their arrest.

An administrative manager of Koala, Belinda Bekoe told Accra based rado station, Joy FM that the taxi driver would be getting a new taxi from the company.

It is “for being a national hero and a special hero with the Koala family,” Bekoe said.

The police arrested two suspected robbers, Abaliku Sannie, 35, and Oko Quaicoo, 30, who shot an Administrative assistant , Lydia Horsu after she had left the Cantonment branch of Koala.

The taxi driver who witnessed the incident drove his taxi and stopped the fleeing shooters by ramming his taxi into the motorbike they were using to escape. He also prevailed upon an angry group not to lynch the suspects.

Speaking about his heroic act of bravery, the taxi driver explained the taxi does not belong to him. It is a ‘work and pay’ arrangement which requires that he makes daily sales to the owner for some years before he can eventually own the vehicle. The engine area of the taxi is badly damaged, he said.

In a statement signed by Christal Beeko, in charge Marketing and Public Relations, the company it was deeply saddened by the robbery incident which led to gunshot injuries to Lydia Horsu.

It explained that on Saturday January 9, 2016, Horsu who was an assistant administrator was assigned to run routine checks on the Osu and Cantonment shops.

This assessment of shops, it said was a routine for administrators of the supermarket; they are required to visit the three shops regularly to interact with managers and staff and to collect receipts for reconciliation. This routine shop assessment in no way involves collection of money and its deposit to the bank.

“Ideally, administrators are assigned company vehicles to help with such shop checks however on this occasion, Lydia’s assigned vehicle was unavailable and she was inclined to go with a regular cab whose cost is shouldered by Koala Supermarket.”

It explained further that Lydia visited the Osu branch for her assessment and continued to the Cantonment branch. When she was done at Cantonments, she decided to walk down to the roundabout by the American embassy to pick a taxi before returning to her office at Airport. On her way to the roundabout, she was attacked by three motorists near the American embassy. She was asked for her bag which contained her money and was shot twice in the leg. A random taxi driver came to her aid, running over two of her assailants leading to their arrest. Lydia is currently on admission and is responding to treatment.

According to the company its employees are never sent to the bank with plastic bags to deposit money in the manner described on Social Media. The supermarket employs unique and safe mechanism which to the best of our abilities does not put the lives of our employees at risk.

Management is grateful to the heroic taxi driver, who risked his life to help Lydia and to stop her assailants from inflicting further harm. He will be rewarded for his heroism.