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Emmanuel Ampomah, 52, taxi driver, fatally stabbed on Seashore drive

GeneralEmmanuel Ampomah, 52, taxi driver, fatally stabbed on Seashore drive

BELIZE CITY, Wed. July 17, 2019– Emmanuel Ampomah, 52, a taxi driver originally from Ghana, Africa, was stabbed to death in his car at about 8:00 last night on Seashore Drive in Buttonwood Bay by one of two men who were posing as passengers.

Reliable information to us is that Ampomah was in his cab with two men on Seashore Drive when, according to persons who claim to have witnessed the incident, the car stopped, and two men got out and ran off.

The car then sped off on the road by the seashore, went into a drain and overturned just past a popular spot that has a gazebo and a large “BELIZE” sign near the sea that tourists often visit to take pictures.

Police were called and when they went to the scene, they saw Ampomah in the overturned car. Police said that there was a knife measuring about 8 inches beside him. Ampomah was taken out of the car and rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

During the weekly police brief held this morning in Belmopan, ASP Alejandro Cowo said that the motive for the stabbing murder of the cab driver is not known, and that they are considering the possibility that his killers wanted to rob him, although they don’t yet know for sure if Ampomah actually was robbed. They are looking for the two passengers who were traveling in the car with him.

Reports are that Ampomah was stabbed 3 times in his neck and chest, and this is what caused him to lose control of his car and crash. Security cameras in the area show the two men getting out of the car, and they have been described as teenagers.

Isani Cayetano, of News5 Belize, a journalist who has known Ampomah for some time and who was often a passenger in Ampomah’s cab, said that Ampomah had been operating his cab for years and that he worked from about 6:00 in the evening to about 2:30 in the morning, and was very reliable. The taxi driver/mechanic operated his cab from the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Taxi Stand, catering to the staff of the hospital and people departing from the hospital, and he also operated his taxi from the Princess Casino.

Cayetano said he only charged $5 to transport passengers anywhere in the city.

Today, an official of the Nigerian community told us that they are greatly saddened by his death. They said that Ampomah was mild-mannered and friendly, and they don’t believe he had enemies. They said that he was dedicated to his job, so much so that he would often miss their community meetings, and when he was not working his cab, he was at home.

The official said it is not yet known if Ampomah’s body will be taken back to Ghana, or if he would be cremated and his ashes sent to his family. The official said the Nigerian community will meet and make the decision.

Ampomah, who has been living in Belize for over a decade, had no family members in Belize.

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