*The Inside Story Of Who, Where, How & Why A Poor Farmhand Was Arrested And
Put To Death *
Painstaking investigations into the gruesome serial killings of 34 women
have revealed that the embassy of the United States of America and the
Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) allowed itself to be used in a grand
deception perpetrated by the Kufuor administration in looking for the
murderers of the women found dead in parts of the Accra metropolis between
1998 and 2000.
Contrary to what has been fed to the public through a gullible media, the US
Embassy in Accra and the FBI of America did not play any role in the
investigations, arrest and prosecution of Mr. Charles Quansah, who is
currently on death row in the Nsawam Medium Security Prison awaiting
presidential orders to be hanged.
Mr. Quansah was arrested in Adenta over the death of Joyce Boateng and
handed over to the Madina police late in 2000; he was subsequently
transferred to the Police Headquarters in Accra.
Investigations show that Quansah was arrested long before the presidential
and parliamentary elections which brought John Agyekum Kufuor and the New
Patriotic Party (NPP) to office with a manifesto promise to nab the killers,
which they claimed the Rawlings regime had failed to do.
Checks conducted by this reporter have revealed that the FBI’s role in the
serial killings was first mentioned in April 2001, by Mr. Malik Yakubu
Alhassan, then Minister of the Interior, at a meeting with Louis J. Freeh,
then FBI Director when he made a stop-over in Accra to hold talks with
President Kufuor, but the minister did give details except to say that the
FBI came in February of that year.
Interestingly, long before the FBI arrived on the shores of Ghana, Quansah
was already in Police custody.
*Who, Why and How Quansah Was Arrested *
Quansah’s arrest was led by a businessman, Mr. Alhassan Mohammed Teena and
his friend, Dwomoh, in their quest to free another friend, Samuel Kwadwo
Adjei, who had been put into custody over the murder of Joyce Boateng at
Adenta-Aviation.
He was picked up in the house of Prof. Akyea Danso of the University of
Ghana – Legon, according to Mr. Teena, who resides in Madina.
The non-involvement of the US Embassy in Ghana and the FBI in the arrest of
Mr. Quansah has been confirmed by former Inspector-General of Police (IGP)
Peter Nanfuri in several interactions with this reporter, in both his house
at North Legon and his law office on the fourth floor of the Total House in
Accra.
Mr. Nanfuri’s massive silence and that of the US embassy contributed to the
deceit and possible human rights abuse (unlawful incarceration) of Charles
Quansah who insists that he was given a raw deal through a sloppy police
investigation which was laced with severe torture and an alleged confession.
Few years ago, an officer of the US embassy in Accra by name Kolinsky, also
told this reporter that neither the embassy nor FBI was involved in the
investigation into the serial killings. Many electronic messages sent
through the internet to the FBI headquarters in America to know its
involvement in the investigation did not yield any response.
Mr. Alhassan Mohammed Teena, describes as blatant lies persons claiming that
the FBI was part of the investigation towards the arrest of Mr. Quansah.
He explained that Mr. Quansah was arrested over the death of Ms. Joyce
Boateng because a day before the lady was found dead, she had told her
boyfriend, Kwadwo and a female neighbour that she was going to Dansoman with
Mr. Quansah to look for an apartment to rent.
Joyce was, however, found dead the next day, and Quansah became the prime
suspect. He was arrested three days later, and Kwadwo who was put in police
custody over the same incident, was released on bail.
Mr. Teena further revealed he volunteered his private Opel Vectra car and
transported both Quansah and Kwadwo to the Police Headquarters after an
order was sent to Madina Police to bring the suspects there. Kwadwo was
later released, while Mr. Quansah was kept in detention. Mr. Teena said he
only heard of Quansah’s death sentence later in the news.
Samuel Kwadwo Adjei has, in an interview with this reporter, confirmed the
story of his arrest by the Madina Police and how he and Mr. Quansah were,
together, handed over to the Police Headquarters over the death of Joyce
Boateng.
*Interactions With Peter Nanfuri *
On his part, Mr. Peter Nanfuri, told this reporter that although Quansah was
arrested during his tenure as IGP, the police administration could not
prosecute him because the evidence against him was circumstantial so he was
kept in detention for further investigation.
Now a member of the Council of State, Mr. Nanfuri attributed the police
administration’s inability to prosecute Quansah to other leads the police at
the time had picked elsewhere and on which they had made some inroads and
were waiting for the right time to pounce.
Meanwhile, Charles Quansah, insists that he was tortured by the police led
by then Superintendent David Asante-Apeatu who was later appointed, CID
Director by President Kufuor. Inspector Onipa, Superintendent Issah and
Sergeant Charles were among investigators who tortured him to admit killing
nine of the women when he was in custody at the Police Headquarters in
Accra.
Another officer, Hanson Gove, currently at the Homicide Department of the
CID, also played an active role in the serial killings investigation.
The convict tells prison officers that despite the fact that the police
arrested him in June 2000 for allegedly killing his girlfriend, Joyce
Boateng of Adenta in the Greater Accra Region, he was rather charged for the
murder of a certain Akua Serwaa, who died on January 19, 1996, around the
Kumasi Sport Stadium.
His lawyer, Mr. Joseph O. Amui, also believes that Quansah has been unfairly
treated. He told this reporter on many occasions that during Quansah’s
trial, one Cynthia Nyarko, a prosecution witness who was said to be a sister
of the late Akua Serwaa, could not even identify Quansah, as someone who had
intimate relations with the late Akua Serwaa as claimed by the Police.
Quansah also told the court that his real girlfriend in Kumasi by name Akua
Nyamekye was still alive at the time of his trial.
He insists that the Asante-Apeatu-led team of investigators, in a desperate
bid to nail him, dragged him from Accra to an unknown location in Kumasi
where they probably found Akua Serwaa’s corpse, creating an impression that
he willingly took the police to Kumasi and showed them the spot. They took
pictures of him.
He told prison sources about how he was blindfolded on many occasions,
handcuffed from behind, taken in a vehicle to unknown locations deep in the
night, and subjected to hours of gruesome torture which always left him
bleeding profusely from his nostrils, ears and mouth.
