Wife pleads for husband’s release

Comfort Teiku, a victim of domestic violence, whose cruel husband allegedly has been subjecting her to severe beatings and threatening her with death at Kromoase New Site in Kumasi, on Thursday failed in her bid to get her man freed by the Circuit Court trying him.

She had pleaded for his release when he made his second appearance to allow for out-of-court settlement but this was rejected by the court.

Justice Emmanuel Amo-Yartey, the trial judge, cited the growing incidence of spousal murders in the country as basis for the denial of the request.

He went ahead to remand the accused and ordered that he should be brought back on Tuesday, June 19.

The accused, Kofi Antwi, according to the prosecution, is a farmer and married to Comfort.

He has been beating her up at the least provocation.

On May 26, the accused assaulted the wife for returning home late from church service.

The woman informed the brother who advised her to spend the night with the mother to allow tempers to calm down.

The said brother in-law, the next day intervened to broker peace and the return of Comfort to her matrimonial home.

She was sleeping with her children in the night when Antwi picked a single-barreled gun hidden under a chair in the room and woke her up by hitting her thigh with the butt.

He told her to thank “her stars” as he did not have any ammunition, else he would have shot her dead.

Comfort fearing for her life kept silent till the next morning when she ran to her brother with the story and Antwi was arrested.

He is charged with threat of death, unlawful possession of firearm and assault, and has pleaded not guilty.

The gun has since been seized by the police.**