Castle man who killed Agric Officer to be tried for murder

By William Nyarko

THE DIRECTOR of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mr. Osafo Sampong, has told the CHRONICLE that WO1 Ebenezer Quaynor of the National Security Council, Castle Annex, who killed a senior officer of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture(MOFA), in cold blood last year, is to stand trial for murder.

Mr. Sampong said his office had reached the decision after studying the docket on the case. He, however, refused to speculate on the specific date for the commencement of the trial, but said "it would be soon".

WO1 Quaynor has been on court bail since June, last year, when he shot Maurice Kpiebarreh, a senior agriculture officer in charge of the Bole District, during a traffic incident at Dzorwulu, Accra. The Security Officer shot Kpiebarreh seven times at close range on June 24, 1999, following a dispute over an accident involving their cars at the Dzowulo by-pass.

According to eyewitness accounts confirmed by DSP Anwuntobuge Awuni, Director of the Police Public Relations Directorate, Quaynor reportedly told the police when he was arrested on the scene of the crime that "I have just shot an armed robber".

DSP Awuni told the Chronicle in a follow-up interview in June, last year, that Quaynor explained in his statement to the Police that he shot Kpiebarreh in self -defence. Kpiebarreh's death numbed the conscience of the nation last year, drawing the angst of his colleagues. MOFA workers in Tamale poured out unto the streets of Tamale in protest against Kpiebarreh's cold-blooded killing and called on President Rawlings to " let Quaynor pay the full price".

Similarly, Kpiebarreh's course mates at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) sent a petition to President Rawlings imploring him to let justice prevail in this matter. They also called on him to check the proliferation of weapons in the country. Kpiebarreh was attending a post-graduate Diploma Course at GIMPA and was scheduled to complete his course on July 7, 1999.

The killing of Kpiebarreh drew the attention of Parliament when the Minister of the Interior, Nii Okaidja Adamafio, fielded questions from Members of Parliament as to whether it was right for Quaynor to have possessed more than one gun at the time of the incident (Quaynor carried two pistols and one AK 47 rifle in his car). The Minister said it was okay for Quaynor to carry more than one gun.