Court Hears Atronie Murder Case On April 10

The Sunyani High Court Two will, on Friday, May 2, 2008, start hearing the case in which 11 people have been recommended by the Attorney-General's (A-G's) Department to be tried for their alleged role in the death of Mr Anthony Yeboah-Boateng, the former Administrator of the Goaso Government Hospital at Atronie, near Sunyani. Until their indictment, the 11 were among 30 suspects who had been standing trial at the Sunyani Magistrate's Court B for their alleged involvement in the murder of Mr Yeboah Boateng on Easter Sunday last year. The late Mr Yeboah-Boateng was also the Presiding Member of the Asunafo North District Assembly. The 11 have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, murder and causing unlawful damage. Sources close to the court in Sunyani, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic, also indicated that the court had issued a bench warrant for the arrest of 14 other suspects who were now at large. The 11 who are currently in prison custody are Douglas Afriyie, alias Dougie; Stephen Donkor, alias Kofi Ankama; Kwasi Nyantekyi, alias Nana Kusi; Kwaku Agyeman Badu, alias Wakuu; Adama Hamidu; James Dankwah; Kwame Yeboall Addae, alias Akolo; Kwadwo Awuah, alias Koo Wua or "I see"; Kwame Anokye; Emmanuel Kwaku Lartey, alias Adjetey, and Kwame Krah, alias Koo Krah. The 14 who are still wanted by the police are Yaw Kwarteng, alias Akiel; Kwabena Mensah, alias AJasi; Julian Coffie, alias Akro Dan; Kwame Gyau; Kwasi Boampong, alias Kaissel Jnr; Yaw Akoto and Yaw Samuel, alias Dagaa or Gongong. Others are Kwame Dada; Yaw Michael, alias Mike: Osei Kwabena; Kwadwo Nsafoa, alias Polar; Kwadwo Brenya; Kwaku Fitter and Kwadwo Boadi. The A-G's Office has, however, advised that charges preferred against six of the suspect, including the Chief and the Queen of Atronie, Nana Amponsem Darko and Nana Wil'eij:oaa Afriyie, respectively, Agbonovi Abuja, Charles Kwaku Yeboah, Emmanuel Kwahena Ampong and Kwadwo Boadi, should be dropped In its directive, the A-Gs Office explained that the "six denied any knowledge of the charges preferred against them as the available evidence was inadequate to sustain the prosecution of the charges against them. In the circumstance, I advise that the charges preferred against them should be dropped . The police expressed their dissatisfaction with the advice to discharge the chief and the queen of Atronie and had expressed their desire to meet with officials of the law office to commit the two for trial on a charge of abetment, since they were alleged to be privy to the murder. According to the source, the 11 suspects had found it difficult to engage counsel to defend them, in view of the high fees allegedly being quoted by lawyers they had approached, saying that in some cases lawyers whom some of the suspects had contacted were allegedly charging about GH¢3,OOO. However, the source pointed out that most of the suspects could not afford to pay the cost of their defence and explained that since the case was an indictable offence, the suspects needed lawyers to assist them in their defence. At the last adjourned date, the source indicated that only two of the suspects were represented by defence counsel. It further explained that if the suspects failed to engage lawyers on their own, the law demanded that the government should provide them with lawyers to defend them, in which case they had to fall on the Legal Aid Board. On April 8, 2007, Mr Yeboah-Boateng, in the company of his wife and two other women, was travelling from Goaso to Sunyani to convey the corpse of a relative from the regional hospital to the Goaso Hospital mortuary. When they got to Atronie with the corpse, the accused persons, together with others, blocked the road with rocks and cement blocks, forcing Yeboah-Boateng to stop. The accused persons, together with the others, rushed on Mr Yeboah-Boateng and accused him of being a ritual murderer because he was carrying a corpse in his car. Before the deceased could offer any explanation, the accused and others pulled him out of the vehicle, clubbed him to death and attempted to set his body and car ablaze. The accused persons then vandalised his car and the corpse and bolted from the town.