Court remands six for alleged murder

Sunyani, June 11, GNA - The Sunyani Magistrate court has remanded six farmers, including a woman, into prison custody for allegedly killing a 38 year old hunter, at Atuahenekrom near Sunyani. The pleas of James Obeng, Kwasi Mensah, Kofi Mensah, Charles Mensah, Kwame Duah, and Doris Opoku Agyeman were not taken on the charges of murder, abetment and transferring firearm without authority. They were remanded into prison custody to re-appear on June 18, 2007.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Martin Defeamaphor, prosecutor, told the court, presided over by Mr. Albert Zooga that the accused were friends of the deceased, Daniel Akumani and lived in the same area at Atuahenekrom.

He said on May 15, last year the accused together with the deceased went on a hunting expedition. The prosecutor said Obeng, who was armed with a single barreled gun, unlawfully transferred to him by Doris, allegedly saw an antelope and shot at it from afar but hit Daniel killing him instantly. The prosecutor said the accused went to their various homes without informing anybody in the village about the incident. He said at about 2300 hours on the same day the accused went back for the deceased's body, which they carried and dumped by the Atuahene-Abodasi road and placed his (deceased) gun beside him to make it seemed as if he was victim of a serial killer. ASP Defeamaphor said a witness in the case found the body of the deceased the next morning and reported to the police. Police investigations led to the arrest of all the accused who admitted the offence in their caution statements.