Major Mahama’s death was from multiple head injuries - Pathologist

Dr Lawrence Edusei, Specialist Pathologist at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital has said that Major Maxwell Adams Mahama’s death was caused by multiple head injuries due to blunt objects and gunshots.

He said, “I retrieved a flat led object looking like a pellet from the skin covering the head and had deep cuts at the right side of the head heading towards the middle part.”

He said these could be said to be unnatural causes, thus he did not die of natural causes.

Giving his evidence in Chief before the Accra High Court hearing the case involving 14 people standing trial for the murder of the Major, Dr Edusie said in November 2017 he was directed to perform the post mortem on Major Mahama and he performed a thorough examination on the body because of what he saw externally.

He said an external examination showed, a well-nourished male adult who had burns involving the head, both upper limbs, both lower limps, and the abdomen. In total about 54 per cent of the total body surface area had cuts as well as multiple cuts on the skull.

He told the court that there were cuts on the left side of the lower limbs, depressed fracture of the skull, fracture of the jaw bone, fracture of the ribs as well as extensive bleeding under the skin of the head.

In relation to his internal organs, Dr Edusie said there was bleeding in the brain and extensive bleeding from the lungs and in the left upper part of the abdomen. He also had a penetrating injury of the left lung.

He, however, told the court that there was no abnormality in any of the organs, kidney, and thyroid glands among others.

Dr Edusie also told the court that, he took X-rays prior to the post mortem, and found pellets in the left side of the jaw, the lower end of the right thigh, the lower part of the left leg, and an object lodged at the right side of the pelvic bone that had caused a fracture, but could not determine what the object was but it was most likely to be a shot gun.

“Apart from the gunshot injury to the skull and the left chest wall, the others did not contribute significantly to the cause of death.”

He said after the post mortem he handed over the report to the investigator.

During cross-examination by Mr George Bernard Shaw, Dr Edusei said he worked with the Criminal Investigations Department, headquarters and that they gave him adequate information on the crime scene. He said the work of the ballistic expert was totally different from his as a pathologist and he did not need the ballistics’ contribution

When asked what he meant by cause of death was underlying or immediate cause of death he said it meant that when somebody has a death injury what might lead to the death is brain damage but the underlining cause is the injury.

When asked what could be the underlying cause of death, he answered that it could have been stones, iron rods among others.

He maintained that the blunt objects he mentioned were not an afterthought and a figment of his imagination as claimed by the counsel and that he could give examples of that if given the chance to.

Mr Shaw asked why the time of death was not in the report, and he said that information has to be given by the investigators.

The case has been adjourned to December 10.

Fourteen persons are standing trial at an Accra High Court over the killing of Major Mahama, who was an officer of the 5th Infantry Battalion, at Burma Camp.

The late Major was on duty at Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region when on May 29, 2017 some residents allegedly mistook him for an armed robber and lynched him.

The mob had ignored his persistent plea that he was an officer of the Ghana Armed Forces.

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

Others are John Bosie, Akwasi Baah, Charles Kwaning, Emmanuel Badu, Bismarck Abanga and Kwadwo Anima.