We took photographs of the crime scene with our phones - Witness

Mr Solomon Sakyiamah, a Detective Sergeant on Thursday told an Accra High Court trying the alleged murderers of Major Maxwell Mahama, that he and his colleagues used their mobile phones to take the initial photographs of the crime scene for investigations.

Mr Sakyiamah was answering questions under further cross-examination by Theophilus Donkor, Counsel for Kofi Nyame, and John Bosie, who then asked the witness, how many photographs they took at the crime scene, of which he answered that, many.

Counsel for defence asked the witness, how he and his colleagues transferred the photographs to the Deiso Police, who have jurisdiction over the area, the witness said “we transferred the photographs through WhatsApp, a social media application”.

Counsel asked the Detective Sergeant, who is the eighth prosecution witness, whether apart from the Assemblyman, who else did he identify but the witness said “l did not identify anyone.”

Mr Patrick Anim Addo, Counsel for Bismarck Abanga, and Kwadwo Anima asked “Did you see the person on the floor as an armed robber”, but the witness answered in the negative.

He asked further why that assertion, of which the witness said by the time he and his colleagues got to the crime scene, they had no information on him and could not conclude.

The witness said after the narration from Amass, that he was shot by late Major Mahama, “I was inclined to believe the deceased is an alleged robber”, but he was later told the same day that he was a Military Officer.

“Amass told us that it was the late Major Mahama, who shot him, when he wanted to take the pistol from his behind,” he said.

The Counsel asked, the witness that as a trained Police officer, what was he supposed to do seeing someone with a pistol; the Detective Sergeant said you need to question the person, whether the weapon was registered and if you are not convinced, you ask the person to produce documents covering it.

Mr Addo asked, Mr Sakyiamah, whether his friends in Denkyira Obuasi had told him that they have left the town; he answered in the affirmative, saying they left two days after the happenings in the town.

The witness told the court at the last adjourned data that he was stationed at Denkyira Domenase.

The cross-examination of the eighth ended for the State to present it’s next witness.

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-Obuasi 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 matter to Tuesday, April 16, for continuation.