Maj. Mahama murder: Judgement day suffers delay, case adjourned to Jan. 25

The Tuesday, November 28, 2023 proposed date by the High Court in Accra for the seven-member Jury to return their verdict (judgement) in the case in which William Baah and some 13 others are standing trial for the murder of Major Maxwell Mahama has suffered another delay.

The case has since been adjourned to next year, January 25, 2024.

This was because, one of the jurors was indisposed, when the case came up on Monday, November 27, for defence lawyer Patrick Anim Addo, Counsel for 13th and 14th Accused persons to conclude his final address to the jury.

Justice Mariama Owusu, a Justice of the Supreme Court, sitting with an additional responsibility as a High Court judge, had earmarked Tuesday, November 28, for the summing up of the trial and for the Jury to retire and return their verdict (Judgement).

However, the date suffered unexpected setback as one of the jurors was indisposed on medical grounds.

Another of the jurors, has also indicated of his unavailability from the evening of November 28, 2023 to January 22, 2024 as he is set to travel out of the country.

This led to the Court adjourning the case to next year, January 25, 2024, for continuation of the matter that potentially required only two court sittings to end.

The Court had hoped to supervise the final jury address Lawyer Patrick Anim Addo, Counsel for 13th and 14th accused on November 27.

William Baah, the Assemblyman for Denkyira and 13 others have been charged for the roles in the lynching of young soldier Major Maxwell Mahama.

Major Maxwell Mahama, was lynched at Denkyira Obuasi (now New Obuasi) in the Central region in May 2017 when he was mistaken as an armed robber.

William Baah, the Assemblyman for Denkyira Obuasi and 13 others are facing various charges ranging from abetment, conspiracy and murder and are standing trial.

So far, the parties have closed their evidence and are orally giving their final addresses to the jury.

Accused persons

The accused persons are William Baah, the Assembly member of Denkyira-Obuasi, Bernard Asamoah, alias Daddy, Kofi Nyame a.k.a Abortion, Charles Kwaning a.k.a Akwasi Boah, Kwame Tuffour, Joseph Appiah Kubi, Michael Anim and Bismarck Donkor.

The others are John Bosie, Akwasi Asante, Charles Kwaning, Emmanuel Badu, Bismarck Abanga and Kwadwo Anima.

While William Baah, the Assemblyman has pleaded not guilty to the charge of abetment, the remaining 13 have also denied the charges of conspiracy to commit murder and murder.

All of them are currently in lawful custody.

Brief facts

The facts, presented by the prosecution, were that Major Mahama was the commander of a military detachment stationed at Diaso in the Upper Denkyira West District in the Central Region to check illegal mining activities.

At 8 am on May 29, 2017, Major Mahama, wearing civilian clothes but with his sidearm, left his detachment base for a 20-kilometre jogging.

At 9:25 a.m., the military officer got to the outskirts of Denkyira Obuasi, where a number of women were selling foodstuffs by the roadside.

He stopped to interact with the women and even bought some snails, which he left in their custody to be taken up on his return from jogging.

While he was taking out money from his pocket to pay for the snails, the woman from whom he had bought the snails and a few others saw his sidearm tucked to his waist.

Soon after he left, one of the women telephoned the assembly member for Denkyira Obuasi to report what they had seen.

“Without verifying the information, the assembly member mobilised the accused persons and others, some now at large, to attack the military officer,” the prosecution stated.

It added that the mob met Major Mahama near the Denkyira Obuasi cemetery and, without giving him the opportunity to explain and identify himself, “attacked him with implements such as clubs, cement blocks and machetes, killed him and burnt a portion of his body”.