Justice will prevail in Abesim murder case – Bono Minister assures

Richard Appiah, the accused person in the infamous Abesim murder case, is still under psychiatric examination, Justina Owusu-Banahene, the Bono Regional Minister, has said.

Owusu-Banahene at a media briefing in Sunyani asked the bereaved families to remain calm with the assurance that justice would prevail.

Appiah was arrested in October 2021 for the alleged killing of 12 and 15-year-olds, Louis Agyemang and Stephen Sarpong at Abesim, a suburb of Sunyani and he had since been standing trial at the Kaneshie District Court.

The court has, however, ordered a psychiatric examination of the accused based on the advice of the Attorney-General.

Describing the murder as “monstrous”, Mad. Owusu-Banahene said “Appiah is undergoing serious psychiatric evaluation and examination to ascertain his mental faculty.”

“I have met the Inspector General of Police and the Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice on the matter and I assure you that prosecution on the matter is steadily progressing,” she stated.

Touching on security, Mad. Owusu-Banahene said the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) was working hard to improve on the security situation in the region and called for support of the public.

She emphasised the need for everybody to remain watchful, refrain from walking alone at night and in isolated places, and report people with questionable characters and strange movements to the security services to apprehend them for prosecution.

Meanwhile, some residents at Abesim and its surrounding area have appealed to the judiciary to be expeditious on the prosecution of the accused person.