By: Franklin Asare-Donkoh
Information coming in from Abutia Kloe, in the Ho West District of the Volta Region, has it that the suspect linked to the shooting that led to the death of a wildlife officer at the Kalakpa Forest Reserve has been found dead while in police custody.
According to the Assembly Member for the Abutia Kloe Electoral Area, Mr. Fredrick Tengey, the suspect was being held in a police station at Abutia Kloe, pending investigations, when the incident happened.
Mr. Tengey, in an interview, said that from preliminary indications, the death of the suspect may have been a case of self-inflicted harm.
However, police authorities have so far remained tight-lipped on the development, but the family of the late wildlife officer has been officially informed.
“I received a call from the family of Raphael Ganyo, who was shot in the reserve. According to them, the suspect hanged himself and died in the cell. They confirmed the dead body in the cell, but I have yet to confirm from the district commander,” an officer from the Forestry Commission said.
The incident follows the fatal shooting of a 28-year-old wildlife officer, identified as Mr. Ganyo, in the early hours of Tuesday, January 6, 2026, while on patrol near the Zitoe Camp within the Kalakpa Forest Reserve.
The Forestry Commission says the officer was part of a patrol team responding to a suspected poaching activity when they encountered an armed individual near the boundary of the reserve.
