GNAT demands independent probe into death of teacher at Gindabour

The Northern Regional Executives of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) are demanding an independent and transparent investigation into the death of a teacher, Abu Seidu, following an encounter with police personnel at Gindabour in the Savannah Region. GNAT says the Ghana Police Service should not be allowed to be the sole investigator in an incident in which its personnel are alleged to have been directly involved. Mr Seidu, a professional teacher at Gindabour D/A Primary School in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District, died on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, in circumstances that remain disputed.

In a statement issued on September 24, the Northern Regional GNAT Executives said the investigation must establish exactly what happened from the moment Mr Seidu encountered the police until his death. “This is precisely why GNAT demands an independent investigation. The Police Service cannot be allowed to be the sole investigator of an incident in which its own personnel are alleged to have been directly involved,” the union said.

GNAT said where a citizen dies following an encounter with law-enforcement officers, the circumstances must be subjected to an investigation that is “independent, impartial, transparent and credible enough to command public confidence.” The union’s demand comes amid differing accounts of the circumstances surrounding Mr Seidu’s death. The Police Service has said officers on patrol encountered a motorbike rider who diverted into the bush after seeing their vehicle. The officers reportedly later found him unconscious and began conveying him to hospital, but he died on the way.

Community accounts, however, have raised questions about what happened between the encounter with the police and the teacher’s death. The bodies of Mr Seidu and General Constable Redeemer Owusu, who was later killed in a mob attack, were taken for preservation and autopsy. GNAT is also calling for the autopsy findings on Mr Seidu to form part of the independent investigation and for the outcome to be communicated transparently to his family and the public, subject to applicable legal requirements.

The union further wants a separate investigation into the death of General Constable Owusu, stressing that it condemns mob justice, vigilantism and the unlawful killing of any person. “Justice for Abu Seidu must not be pursued at the expense of justice for Redeemer O… According to them, the apparent silence from the GES was troubling, particularly because Mr Seidu was an employee of the Service.

In a statement issued September 24, GNAT said: “The Northern Regional GNAT executives are particularly disappointed by the apparent absence, as of the date of this statement, of a formal public statement from the Ghana Education Service (GES) condemning the death of Mr. Abu Seidu and expressing solidarity with his bereaved family and colleagues.” The Association stressed that the circumstances surrounding the teacher’s death had generated national concern and competing accounts, making it necessary for his employer to publicly respond. “When a teacher dies in circumstances that have generated national concern and competing accounts, the employer cannot afford to remain silent,” GNAT said.