The late Major Maxwell Mahama
The
weapons which were allegedly used by a mob to lynch the late Major Maxwell
Mahama at Denkyira-Obuasi have been tendered in evidence by a prosecution
witness in the trial of 14 people suspected to have taken part in the gruesome murder
case.
The
witness, ASP Baffuor Apenteng Nyamekye, a deputy director of operations at the
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters tendered the items while
being led in his evidence in chief by Evelyn Keelson, a Chief State Attorney.
The
witness told the court that the items were picked from the crime scene as part
of their investigations and they had since preserved them.
The
weapons, which included six-inch cement blocks, stones and a metal bar, were tendered
in evidence after the witness had identified them.
He
also tendered in the pistol of the deceased soldier which was picked from the
crime scene by one of the accused persons, Akwasi Boah.
ASP
Apenteng, in his evidence in chief, told the court that he was in his office on
May 30, 2017, at about 11:00 am when the Director-General of CID informed him
that there had been an incident at Denkyira-Obuasi, where a military man had
been murdered, so he should lead a team of policemen to conduct investigations
into the matter.
He
said he took 30 policemen (some in plain clothes) and detectives to the crime
scene at Diaso, the District Capital of the Upper Denkyira West around
midnight.
“Upon
the briefing, I decided to visit the crime scene with my local team and at the
scene and upon interrogation, l got to know where the deceased was trapped by some
people of Denkyira,” he said.
He
said he also saw where the deceased made several attempts to escape but was not
successful and was eventually killed by the mob.
He
tendered a picture of a Google map of the crime scene which became a bone of
contention between the prosecution and the defence lawyers who objected to its
authenticity.
After
listening to arguments from both sides which lasted for close to 30 minutes, the
trial judge, Justice Mariama Owusu, a Court of Appeal
judge, admitted the picture in evidence, saying it was not prejudicial to the
matter as alleged by the defence lawyers.
The
witness said they made a total of 56 arrests including the accused persons but
with the advice from the Attorney General’s Department, only 14 were charged.
Mr.
Apenteng also told the court that in the course of the investigations, they
picked additional information leading to the retrieval of two single shot
barrel-guns allegedly used to attack the deceased.
“One
was retrieved from the room of one Yaw Amankwah – now at large – and the other
from the room of one other person, which was used by Akwasi Asante, an accused
person in the case.”
The
two shotguns retrieved were tendered in evidence.
Cross-examination
During cross-examination, George Bernard Shaw, lawyer for five of the accused, asked the witness whether the crime scene was cordoned off but the witness answered in the negative. He indicated that the scene was not disturbed. Hearing continues today.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak
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