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Details emerging from the gory accident involving the two military dispatch riders last Friday at Burma Camp in Accra leading to the death of the Navy rider indicate that the motor bike display was not part of the official programme for the day.

Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Colonel Aggrey Quarshie confirmed to the Daily Heritage yesterday in an interview that the display by the riders was out of excitement. 
He said “the dispatch riding was not part of the ceremony...maybe out of excitement... it is not something we programmed that as part of the pulling out there would be dispatch riding” and thus described the accident as very unfortunate.  

 Similar display on Thursday

Sources at Burma Camp indicated that the riders did a similar display last Thursday during the pulling out ceremony of the outgoing Chief of Naval Staff, Real Admiral Geoffrey Mawuli Biekro without any problems.  
They, thus, expressed worry as to what might have gone wrong on Friday leading to the death of their colleague.

Background

A Navy dispatch rider died hours after a head-on-collision with a colleague rider at Burma Camp in Accra during a display. 
The rider, identified as Petty Officer Simon Akumpele, was rushed to the 37 Military Hospital in Accra in an unconscious state, together with his colleague, whose identity has been withheld. 
The two were involved in a head-on collision while riding their motorbikes during the pulling out ceremony for the former Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), Vice-Admiral Matthew Quashie, at Burma Camp in Accra last Friday. 
They were part of a number of dispatch riders who were displaying their motor riding skills to the admiration of onlookers at the ceremony.

No rehearsal

The GAF PRO told the Daily Heritage that the riders did not rehearse, but out of excitement, they were allowed to display their skills. 
Col. Quarshie said the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Vice Marshall Michael Samson-Oje has visited the family of the victim to offer the army's support. 
He urged the media to be sensitive to the family's current situation and be circumspect in their reportage on the issue since the family of the victim is going through a lot at the moment.

Death of second dispatch rider

Unconfirmed reports gathered by the paper indicate that the second dispatch rider has also passed on at the 37 Military Hospital. 
But, the GAF PRO could not confirm his death as at the time of filing this report yesterday and noted that “that would be very unfortunate. He was responding to treatment so this would be a very big blow.”

Ceremony

The symbolic ceremony marked the retirement of Vice-Admiral Quashie and the handing over to Air Vice-Marshal Samson-Oje as the new CDS. 
As part of the ceremony, senior military officers gently pulled a long rope attached to an armoured vehicle in which Vice- Admiral Quashie was riding out of the barracks.