'l re-constructed a crime scene sketch' - witness

Mr Baffour Appenteng Nyamekye, Assistant Commissioner of Police has told an Accra High Court hearing the trial of the alleged murderers of the late Major Maxwell Mahama that he never constructed a google map.

He said rather he re-constructed the crime scene sketch.

Mr Appenteng, who has served with the Ghana Police Service for 30 years, was answering questions in further cross-examination by Mr Bernard Shaw, the counsel for William Baah, and said he added a couple of inputs to the google map to arrive at the crime scene sketch.

Asked, whether he knew that the Military were in that District to give protection to a mining company called C and G, he answered in the affirmative.

The Defence again asked the witness, whether he knew the Company was doing illegal mining in the area and the witness said he was in the town to investigate a murder case and not illegal mining.

“Do you know whether any forensic examination had been done to know, who and who ever handle those items used in the lynching,” counsel asked and the witness said “My Lord we took the cement blocks, stones with blood stains and the guns for the examination but because of the rough nature of the blocks and stones nothing can be done.”

He explained that with the two shot guns, the results were forwarded to the A-G’s Department.

Mr Shaw asked the witness whether he knew the late Military Officer was killed in a valley but the witness disagreed saying, he was killed behind a mud building and not in a valley.

He further suggested to Mr Appenteng that there were only two mud houses at the section of the highway and they were in a valley, the witness again disagreed saying the houses were not in a valley but rather situated after a deep gutter on the high ground.

The witness also said it was not correct that there were only two mud houses but rather they were many houses except that they were metres apart.

In further cross-examination by Augustine Gyamfi, Defence Counsel for Michael Anim and Emmanuel Badu asked the witness whether they made some arrests as a result of his investigations and the witness agreed.

He further asked about how many arrests were made and if he would recollect it was about 56 persons and statements taken from them.

The witness said among the 56 persons arrested were the 14 accused persons currently standing trial in the case.

Asked, whether he could tell the court the criteria used in the arrest, the witness said “when the news of the case got viral, we made random arrest and in this case any indication that you are from the town, you will be arrested. We made a lot of arrest from the nearby towns.”

He said after the arrests, the suspects were brought to Accra and after interrogations, some were discharged, while the 14 were charged for the offence.

Mr Gyamfi asked when the witness first watched the video and he said it was when he got to Diaso that the District Commander showed it to him and later at the Police Headquarters together with accused persons and the investigation team.

The Counsel suggested to the witness whether he would agree with him that it was the video that enabled him to cut down the number of suspects in the case to 14 and that he did not conduct any investigations of which the witness disagreed.

The witness said “I did a thorough investigations, where l travelled to the town on a number of occasions, so it was not correct that he relied on the video to come out with these accused persons.

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-Oboasi 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.

The court presided over by Justice Mariama Owusu adjourned the trial to July 11, 2019.