Man jailed 15 years for manslaughter

Sekondi, July 30, GNA - A Sekondi High Court on Friday sentenced Nathaniel Eshun, a 38 year-old trader to 15 years imprisonment for manslaughter.

The sentence was to take retrospective effect from March 10, 2004. The court however, acquitted Eshun's wife Naomi Hagan, who was charged for conspiracy to murder one Richard Kuuku Amponsah. The seven-member jury returned the verdicts after almost four months of trial.

Eshun and Naomi pleaded not guilty to the charges. Mrs Frances Mullen Asare-Ansah, Assistant State Attorney, told the court presided over by Mr Justice Clemence J. Honyenugah that on September 17, 2002, at Bankyeasi, a suburb of Kwesiminstim near Takoradi, Amponsah took Eshun to his house and introduced him to his mother as a very important person, who needed a place to stay for a week.

She said the deceased's mother, refused to allow Eshun to sleep in the house but he left his travelling bag in the house and went to town with the deceased.

Mrs Asare-Ansah said the following morning when Eshun returned to the house, he alleged that his 600,000 Cedis was missing from the bag and Amponsah's mother agreed to refund the money to avoid embarrassment. The Prosecutor said a few days later, Eshun saw Amponsah at Bankyeasi and started shouting Thief! Thief! And when he caught up with him, Eshun and others now at large started beating Amponsah till he became unconscious.

Mrs Asare-Ansah said Eshun rushed the unconscious Amponsah to the Kwesiminstim Hospital and later reported the incident to the Police. According to the prosecution, Eshun on hearing of the death of Amponsah, collapsed at the hospital but was revived and later arrested and charged for murder.

Mr Clemence Honyenugah after passing sentence, appealed to Amponsah's mother to forget about the past and concentrate her energies on her remaining children.

"It would be better to stop grieving and support your remaining children", he said.