Murder of Georgina Botchwey trial: Accused pleads not guilty

Two men who are standing trial for the murder of a 25-year-old prospective nurse, Georgina Asor Botchwey, have denied killing the deceased.

They both pleaded not guilty to the offences of conspiracy to commit murder and murder when they appeared before the Cape Coast High Court presided over by Justice John Mark Nuku Alifo, on Tuesday.

Christopher Ekow Clark Quansah, alias Nana Clark, a 65-year-old trader and Michael Darko, a 48-year-old pastor, also pleaded not guilty to three charges of unlawfully possessing explosives, firearms and ammunition.

They have all denied the facts as presented by the Prosecution at the District Court on Thursday, September 22, 2022, which suggested that the accused persons admitted to ritual killing during investigations.

The court on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, removed the two accused from the custody of the police and remanded them into prison custody.

Following their plea, counsel for the accused appealed to the court to admit them to bail but the Presiding Judge declined their request.

Michael Monnie, counsel for Quansah, praying for bail, argued that the facts presented by the prosecution were false and misleading.

He said their clients were innocent until proven guilty and for that matter, their continuous incarceration infringed upon their rights and undermined justice.

He said both Quansah and Darko were the breadwinners of their families and that their continuous incarceration was taking a toll on their respective families.

Counsel also submitted that the accused persons were not a flight risk, had credible sureties, had permanent places of abode, had been very cooperative with the Police and had no power to interfere with further investigations.

But Madam Monica Geraldo De-Lima, Assistant State Attorney, led by Mr Vincent Nyineku, Principal State Attorney, for the prosecution opposed the bail.

They were of the conviction that releasing the accused persons into society was not safe for them and the society.

She said the offences in question were first-degree offences for which punishments were severe and pleaded with the court to refuse the bail.

The court refused the request for bail.

Justice Alifo directed the prosecution to file all disclosures, and witness statements and serve the same on the lawyers of the accused within two weeks before the next adjourned date.

The case has been adjourned to Thursday, March 14.

The fact of the case is that the deceased, Georgina Asor Botchwey, a resident of Yeji in the Bono East Region, an applicant seeking admission at the Ankaful Psychiatric Nursing School in the Central Region, arrived in Cape Coast on Thursday, September 8, 2022, for an interview at the school.

Upon arrival, she called Darko who was her senior sister’s fiancé and informed him about her presence in the region and her mission there.

According to the prosecution, Darko then offered to pick her up after her interview at the Nursing School and later arrived in a taxi as had been arranged and sent her to Pedu Junction in Cape Coast, where Quansah had parked his Benz Car with registration number GT 8686-C, which she joined.

The Prosecution said Quansah then drove them to Akwaakrom near Mankessim, seized the deceased’s iPhone and locked her in a room.

The Prosecution said the accused persons allegedly went to Asikafo Ambantem, a suburb of Mankessim, where they dug a hole in an uncompleted storey building belonging to Quansah and went back for the lady and sent her to Asikafo Ambantem.

The prosecution said on September 9, 2022, at around midday, Quansah and Darko allegedly killed Georgina by hitting her head with a club and when she fell, Darko held her neck till she died.

The two allegedly took away some pubic hair of the deceased and left the uncompleted storey building around 0200 hours the next day.

A complaint was lodged by the brother of the deceased, Mr Alfred Duodu, a soldier, with the Police after frantic efforts to reach his sister proved futile.

The police later picked up an intelligence that it was Darko who picked Georgina at Ankaful.

Armed with the information, the Police searched for Darko, who was arrested on Friday, September 19, at Anomabo where he admitted to the crime.

He subsequently led the police to where the deceased had been buried and the body was exhumed.

Further Police intelligence led to the arrest of Quansah from his hideout at Ekumfi Akwaakrom.

The accused persons were first put before the Cape Coast District Court Two, presided over by Madam Bernice Mensima Ackon, and were charged with conspiracy to commit a crime to wit murder and murder.