Ataa Ayi’s mechanic, Yaw Asante Agyekum, has explained that while being held by police, he was made to walk over 20 kilometers in chains.
In an emotional interview with Nana Aba Anamoah, Yaw remembered being stopped by police when he went to visit his sick mother in church in Kwahu Mpraeso. A simple family gathering turned out to be the beginning of my public disgrace and painful experience.
“During church service with my mother, two police officers approached and wanted to know if I was Yaw. I agreed. They said they had been told I was a good mechanic and asked for my help,” Yaw explained.
The officers’ tone changed unexpectedly. According to him, they informed him that he was being detained for being linked to the criminal activities of Ataa Ayi.
Yaw admitted to having met Ataa Ayi because of his work as a mechanic but insisted he was not involved in criminal activities.
Yaw recounts how the police made him walk on foot from Kwahu Mpraeso to Nkawkaw following his arrest in 2002.
— nana aba (@thenanaaba) June 9, 2025
Kindly watch the full interview here: https://t.co/SReJcb1J4O pic.twitter.com/Rnt6JdB7De
READ ALSO: Wrongfully Imprisoned for 23 Years, Atta Ayi’s Mechanic Finally Walks Free
Yaw explained that the officers never brought charges and made him walk the whole way from Mpraeso to Nkawkaw, a distance of about 20 kilometers.
He was told by them that they were heading to catch someone else nearby, but he wasn’t given a reason for forcing him to walk all that way.
“That day is something I will never forget,” he said. As I was walked under supervision, they played the music. I felt confused and humiliated. I only went to see my sick mother and then left immediately.
Yaw’s ordeal continued after what had happened in the airplane. After spending 23 years in prison, he was released because he believed he was wrongly convicted only for knowing someone who had committed a crime.
His story has again sparked discussions about the misbehavior of police, the arrest of innocent people, and the damage the criminal justice system causes.
After the interview went viral, many people showed sympathy, and demanded more accountability from police and payment for those who were jailed wrongly.
