Man Hacked To Death

THE FAMILY of a 36-year-old farmer who was hacked to death at Manso-Abore in the Amansie West district of the Ashanti region is still grieving over the sudden death of their relation. The deceased, Yaw Owusu, died on Wednesday, September 22, 2010, when he was allegedly hacked in a cocoa farm by James Frimpong and Emmanuel Owusu. Frimpong and Owusu, who are currently on bail, allegedly inflicted several deep cutlass wounds on Yaw on the premise that the deceased trespassed unto their cocoa farm and stole some cocoa pods. After injuring the deceased, the two accused persons hurriedly conveyed him to a clinic, after which they lodged a complaint with the police that they had wounded somebody who went to their farm and stole their cocoa pods. After visiting the deceased at the hospital, and realizing that his condition was serious, the police decided to detain the two accused persons, pending the outcome of the deceased’s treatment. Yaw’s father, Osei Assibey, was at home when Kesson Peprah came and informed him that his son had been injured and was at the clinic. Assibey thus quickly rushed to the clinic, and after observing that his son’s condition was serious, went to the police station to report the matter but upon arrival, the police told him that the suspects had already been detained. Due to the severity of the injury, the deceased was referred to the St Martins hospital at Agoroyesum but he died after arriving at the hospital. When the police were informed about the deceased’s death, they quickly conveyed the suspects to the Manso-Nkwanta district police command, where they were further detained. Frimpong and Owusu were arraigned before the Manso-Nkwanta Magistrate Court, where the Magistrate, Samuel .K. Adjei, remanded them into police custody to reappear in two weeks. When the suspects appeared before the court the second time, the magistrate indicated that the facts before him did not allow him to further detain the suspects and therefore granted them bail to reappear in two weeks time. This was after the prosecutor, Inspector William Akamah, read the facts of the case to the court and indicated that the suspects were standing trial for causing harm with offensive weapons. The magistrate granted them bail because the facts did not speak of alleged murder. Mr. Adjei indicated that even if the facts had suggested that the case was an alleged murder, his court had no authority to preside over it as the case ought to have been transferred to a higher court of jurisdiction. The magistrate became furious when the prosecutor told the court the police had not sent the docket to the Attorney General’s Department for advice, stressing that the docket ought to have been sent for advice a long time ago. When the magistrate announced that he was granting the suspects bail to reappear in two weeks, the prosecutor pleaded with the magistrate to extend the date to January, but he refused. After the proceedings, the deceased’s family members were surprised that the suspects had been granted bail. Yaws’ father thus decided to petition the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to ensure that justice was served. In the petition, a copy of which is available to DAILY GUIDE, Mr. Assibey stated that he had reason to believe that the police had an interest in the case, hence their decision to charge the suspects with causing harm with an offensive weapon. He stressed that had the police appropriately charged the suspects with murder, there was no way the magistrate would have granted them bail. Mr. Assibey therefore enjoined the Attorney General’s Department to, as a matter of urgency, call for the docket and study the facts of the case to ensure that the appropriate charge is leveled against the suspects. To the IGP, the bereaved father urged him to keep an eye of his men in the area, alleging that any time there was a case, the suspects were always left off the hook. He was hopeful that the IGP and the Attorney General’s Department would bring the suspects to book. From Morgan Owusu, Kumasi