Yeboah case: Saar police apologize for omissions

Created: 4/4/2022, 12:27 p.m

A police car is parked in front of a station.

© Friso Gentsch/dpa/symbol image

Around 30 years after the killing of a Ghanaian asylum seeker in an arson attack in Saarlouis, the Saarland police have admitted that they had failed in their police work at the time.

A working group (AG) "Causa" set up by the state police headquarters found that the organizational structure at the time did not work properly in parts, the police said in Saarbrücken on Monday.

Saarbrücken - For example, "deficits in the collection, evaluation and dissemination of information" were identified.

State Police President Norbert Rupp said: "On behalf of the State Police Headquarters, I apologize for the fact that deficits in the police work at the time obviously led to the termination of the investigation." Something like this should "not be repeated" - the police have now eliminated weak points and "quality standards " introduced.

The asylum seeker Samuel Kofi Yeboah (27) was killed on September 19, 1991 in an arson attack on accommodation in Saarlouis (Fraulautern).

A right-wing extremist (50) was arrested on Monday as the alleged perpetrator.

The federal prosecutor accuses the German, among other things, of murder.

The federal prosecutor took over the investigation in April 2020.

The investigations conducted at the time by the state judiciary against persons unknown had been discontinued because, according to the federal prosecutor's office, a perpetrator could not be identified.

On the basis of new findings, the proceedings were then resumed by the Saarbrücken public prosecutor's office.

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"I'm relieved that after more than 30 years this terrible act finally seems to have been cleared up," Rupp continued.

The "Causa" working group will continue the internal work-up.

dpa