Mahama petitioned over Akwamufie murder

A group of concerned Diasporans resident in Ghana has petitioned President John Mahana and eight others over their safety in the country, in view of the murder of the two African-Americans at Fihankra, near Akwamufie in the Eastern Region.

In the view of the group, the murder of the two had heightened their security concerns, especially for the “surviving family members -Majewa Akpan and Osakwe Akpan – as well as the safety of all Diasporans living in Ghana.”

Mamelina Diop, 75 and Nzinga Khaliya Jaana, 69, were reportedly murdered on 5 May, 2015 at Akwamufie near Akosombo.

Six persons, including a self-confessed driver, Yaw Anokye Frimpong, 24, are currently before the Accra Central District Magistrate court over the purported assassination of the African-Americans.

The others are Nana Appia-Nti III, mechanic; Brenda Kareema Mohammed, a pensioner and her son, Yazid Alazim Mohammed, businessman and Mensah Kamaugogo Muata, a surgeon assistant.

They are variously being tried for conspiracy to murder and murder.

The Akosombo police mounted a search for the two deceased African-Americans after they were reported missing.

The search led to the discovery of a freshly dug grave about 150 meters away from Frimpong’s maize farm, in which the bodies of the deceased – who were pensioners from the American Civil Service – had been buried.

In a July 20, 2015 petition addressed to President Mahama and copied to the Attorney General (A-G); President Barrack Obama, the USA president and six others, the concerned Diasporans were hopeful that the perpetrators of the crime would be identified and brought to justice in a timely manner.

It said the Diasporans were distressed by the news that two Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) operatives had been arrested for allegedly facilitating the escape of the self-confessed killer and that the escapee’s subsequent recapture in the neighbourhood of the bereaved family members was worrying.

The petition further indicated that the Diasporans were also worried about the fact that the two Ghanaians whose testimonies assisted in the initial arrest of the suspects had been physically assaulted.