Farmer sentenced to death by hanging for murder

Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 17 June '99

A Kumasi High Court presided over by Mr Justice Gilbert M. Quaye, on Tuesday sentenced a 36-year-old farmer, hunter and a palm-wine tapper, Andrew Addai Ampratwum of Effiduasi in Ashanti to death by hanging for murder.

A seven-man jury found Ampratwum also known as Kwasi Aberantee, guilty of murdering Mr Kofi Boampong, a palm-wine tapper.

The jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty, after they had retired for 15 minutes following a 60-minute summing up of the facts presented by both the prosecution and defence, by Mr Justice Quaye.

Mr Otchere Antwi, Senior State Attorney, prosecuting told the court that sometime in 1995, Mr Boampong detected that someone was stealing some wine from his felled palm trees on his palm plantation.

As a result, Mr Boampong on the night of June 23, 1995 sought the assistance of three of his friends, Kofi Dae, Ayeriga Kofi Giwa and Yaw Acheliya to lay ambush to apprehend the culprit at the plantation which is about a mile-and-a-half from Effiduasi.

The prosecutor said at about one am on June 25, 1995, they saw someone with a light entering the plantation.

As the person approaches, recognised the accused who was carrying a hunting lamp, a double-barrel gun and a plastic container and moving from one of the felled palm tree to the other pouring out the contents into the plastic container.

When the accused reached where the deceased was hiding, he (deceased) exclaimed "so it is you Aberantee, who has been stealing my palm wine and when I confronted you, you denied".

Knowing that he has been found out, the accused fired at Boampong, hitting him in the right thigh and he fell down.

Mr Antwi said immediately the gun was fired, Acheliya took to his heels because they were not armed.

Both Dae and Giwa went to the aid of Boampong and struggled with Ampratwum over the gun, which broke into two pieces.

The accused was overpowered and the gun taken from him while Boampong was sent to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, where he died later.

The prosecutor said Ampratum went to the Effiduasi Police station and reported that some assailants had hit him on the forehead and he was sent to the Effiduasi health centre, where he was treated and discharged.

The senior state attorney said when Dae and Giwa returned from KATH they went to the Police at Effiduasi together with the broken gun, the hunter's lamp and the container to report the incident.

Ampratwum was arrested and charged with the offence.

The accused led in defence by his counsel Mr Dennis Adjei, told the court that during the day of the incident he went on a hunting expedition and while in the bush Dae shot him on the forehead and when he shouted that he has been shot, three people including the deceased emerged from the bush and attempted to take his gun from him.

He resisted fearing that they might kill him (accused).

He said when one of them suggested that they should cut his hand with a cutlass he left the gun and it went off accidentally hitting the deceased in the right thigh.