Front Page: Daily Graphic, January 14, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Police Administration has given strong indication to reduce violent crime by 20 per cent this year with special focus on armed robbery and drug trafficking.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye told the Daily Graphic in Accra that the target was part of a five-year strategic plan to be outdoored on January 22, 2010 to all Regional Commanders and heads of specialised and operational heads.
He said the strategic plan outlined effective operational measures and highlights specific objectives, targets and outputs to be obtained in each given year by the respective jurisdictions with the view of enhancing the work of the police in protecting life and property, effective investigations, arrest and successful prosecution.
From January 2009 to November 2009, 1,276 robbery cases were recorded as against 1,347 over the same period in 2008, representing a reduction of 5.3 per cent.
Additionally, the police also recorded only 598 narcotic offences from January 2009 to November, 2009 as against 679 cases within the same period in 2008, representing a decline of 11.9 per cent.
Mr Quaye said the crime situation was largely under control especially armed robbery which caused havoc and concerns in the populace.
He said with the kind of results so far achieved, the public should be convinced that the government was not relenting on its promise to clamp down on criminals.
“What is expected of us is to consider our role as stakeholders to collectively fight crime, reducing criminality, providing justice for all and ensuring transformation and reformation of these miscreants so that they can revert to societies reformed and changed to help with economic development of the communities and the country at large,” he said.
Mr Quaye said the police hitherto worked to contain crime based on directives from the Police Headquarters through the adoption of strategies and appropriate responses.
He said the police were now adopting a scientific approach to criminal investigations and cited the most recent busting of the four armed robbers who reportedly killed a pastor on December 30, last year.
The IGP said the Police Administration was seeking to improve policing through its visibility and investigative skills of personnel.
He said the structures, capacities and facilities of the Crime and Forensic Laboratory were to be greatly enhanced so that pieces of evidence sent there would be properly and scientifically analysed.
“The laboratory should be capable to properly analyse drugs sent there, question documents, analyse finger-prints picked from crime scene and also facilitate computerised criminal research and ballistic examination among others,” he said.
He noted that the Police Administration expected population to grow, new settlements, new businesses and commercial activities among other things to expand within the period which would also come with increased crime.
“We pray that poverty and unemployment levels will also reduce so that we meet our targets,” he said.
He said the Police Administration would also be reviewing its Human Resource stock to ensure that capable and qualified staff, ability to perform, numbers and distribution of personnel were seriously scrutinised.
Mr Quaye said database to provide information readily would be created and developed and also link annual budgets to strategic planning.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Man kills wife, 25, commits suicide
Front Page: Daily Graphic, Janaury 14, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A 60-year-old man has committed suicide by hanging after allegedly stabbing his 25-year-old wife, Florence Ama Prah, to death.
Edward Kwadwo Marfo was found hanging on a tree in the compound house in which he lived at Santa Maria in Accra.
Although tenants in the house described the relationship between Marfo and his wife as lovely, since they did things in common, Marfo’s father-in-law later indicated that all was not rosy in the marriage, as the man suspected his wife of engaging in extra marital affairs.
The love-hate relationship hit its summit when Marfo allegedly denied responsibility for Ama’s pregnancy.
Ama’s decomposed body was later retrieved from their apartment, with her intestines gushed out and the body covered with a cloth ostensibly after Marfo had stabbed her, possibly last Monday night.
The posture of Marfo as he hung on the tree also raised questions for investigators as his feet were firmly rooted on the ground.
A bloodstained knife suspected to have been used in the attack and a crowbar were found lying close to Ama’s body.
Marfo had, on Monday afternoon, taken their two children, identified only as Korantemaa, five, and Nana Owusu, two, to his father-in-law’s house within the same vicinity, with the allegation that Ama had abandoned the children and could not be traced.
The last person who saw Marfo was the daughter of the landlord, Ms Janet Addy, who claimed the man had bought tea from her about 11 p.m. on Tuesday night.
She said when she was retiring to bed about 11:30 p.m., Marfo asked for the key to the toilet in the house.
Marfo’s father-in-law, Mr Kwadwo Prah, 46, recalled a misunderstanding between her daughter and her husband over a pregnancy which Marfo claimed he was not responsible for.
He said Marfo had accused his wife of sleeping around and that the pregnancy was the result of her infidelity.
According to him, Ama had to abort the pregnancy because of the misunderstanding over it and indicated that he (Prah) had spent three hours last Sunday night resolving another problem between the deceased couple.
He said the couple had been bringing the children to his house and, therefore, he had not suspected that there was any problem when the children were sent to him last Monday afternoon.
Some tenants in the house claimed that the last time they had seen Ama in the house was last Monday afternoon.
The landlord, Mr Ransford Addy, said he had been woken up by his wife that one of the tenants was shouting in the house about 3 a.m. yesterday.
He said when he stepped out of the room onto the main yard of the house, he found the deceased hanging on the tree.
He said it was at that point that they became suspicious and when they approached the entrance of the deceaseds’ door to call Ama, they were met with an unusual odour.
He said he quickly rushed to the police station to report the incident.
Mr Addy said Marfo had only told him recently that he was not financially sound as a result of challenges he had been encountering in his "Pure water" business.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A 60-year-old man has committed suicide by hanging after allegedly stabbing his 25-year-old wife, Florence Ama Prah, to death.
Edward Kwadwo Marfo was found hanging on a tree in the compound house in which he lived at Santa Maria in Accra.
Although tenants in the house described the relationship between Marfo and his wife as lovely, since they did things in common, Marfo’s father-in-law later indicated that all was not rosy in the marriage, as the man suspected his wife of engaging in extra marital affairs.
The love-hate relationship hit its summit when Marfo allegedly denied responsibility for Ama’s pregnancy.
Ama’s decomposed body was later retrieved from their apartment, with her intestines gushed out and the body covered with a cloth ostensibly after Marfo had stabbed her, possibly last Monday night.
The posture of Marfo as he hung on the tree also raised questions for investigators as his feet were firmly rooted on the ground.
A bloodstained knife suspected to have been used in the attack and a crowbar were found lying close to Ama’s body.
Marfo had, on Monday afternoon, taken their two children, identified only as Korantemaa, five, and Nana Owusu, two, to his father-in-law’s house within the same vicinity, with the allegation that Ama had abandoned the children and could not be traced.
The last person who saw Marfo was the daughter of the landlord, Ms Janet Addy, who claimed the man had bought tea from her about 11 p.m. on Tuesday night.
She said when she was retiring to bed about 11:30 p.m., Marfo asked for the key to the toilet in the house.
Marfo’s father-in-law, Mr Kwadwo Prah, 46, recalled a misunderstanding between her daughter and her husband over a pregnancy which Marfo claimed he was not responsible for.
He said Marfo had accused his wife of sleeping around and that the pregnancy was the result of her infidelity.
According to him, Ama had to abort the pregnancy because of the misunderstanding over it and indicated that he (Prah) had spent three hours last Sunday night resolving another problem between the deceased couple.
He said the couple had been bringing the children to his house and, therefore, he had not suspected that there was any problem when the children were sent to him last Monday afternoon.
Some tenants in the house claimed that the last time they had seen Ama in the house was last Monday afternoon.
The landlord, Mr Ransford Addy, said he had been woken up by his wife that one of the tenants was shouting in the house about 3 a.m. yesterday.
He said when he stepped out of the room onto the main yard of the house, he found the deceased hanging on the tree.
He said it was at that point that they became suspicious and when they approached the entrance of the deceaseds’ door to call Ama, they were met with an unusual odour.
He said he quickly rushed to the police station to report the incident.
Mr Addy said Marfo had only told him recently that he was not financially sound as a result of challenges he had been encountering in his "Pure water" business.
Police probe two suspected suicide cases
Page 3: Daily Graphic, January 12, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE police are investigating two suspected suicide cases which have rocked Odorkor and Chantan, both communities in Accra, involving a 42-year-old transport owner and a 32-year-old first-year student of the Pentecost University College, respectively.
The first of the suicide cases occurred last Friday when the transport owner, Isaac Kwarteng, allegedly used a sponge to hang himself on a ceiling fan in his bedroom at Odorkor.
Then this morning, jealousy was said to have driven Samuel Akpah of the Pentecost University College to hang himself with a necktie on a nim tree at Chantan.
The immediate cause of Kwarteng’s case is yet to be established.
Bernice Amedeke, 26, a fiancé of Sammy’s, screamed and wailed at the Mile Seven Police Station and asked that she be allowed to join Sammy, wherever he might be.
She said Sammy left the house about 4:30 a.m. yesterday with a necktie in hand.
According to her, when she asked him where he was going, since he had never left the house at that time of the day before, the deceased ignored her.
Ms Amedeke said just when she was about following him to seek an answer to her question, she got a call and stayed back to listen to it.
She said she followed up to the possible places Sammy could have gone to, since he was unemployed.
She said she returned to the house only to hear on radio that someone had committed suicide at a park near Alhaji, a suburb of Chantan.
Ms Amedeke said she quickly took a taxi to the place, only to find the deceased hanging on a nim tree.
As to whether there had been any misunderstanding between them, she said Sammy had suspected her of having an affair but she denied it.
She said the situation got worse when she returned home with a flower with Italian written on it.
She said when she said she was taking it to a priest to explain what it meant, Sammy raised an alarm that the flower confirmed that she was having an affair.
According to her, she was a Catholic and it was the Catholic Church that supported her training as a caterer and decorator and, therefore, the only place and the people she knew were the Catholic Church and its members.
Ms Amedeke said when she explained to Sammy that the only place she went was the church, he still did not believe her.
She said after a number of heated arguments, she decided to park out of Sammy’s house last Saturday, but the matter was resolved by the deceased’s aunt.
She said to the best of her knowledge, there was no problem between them.
The Mile Seven Police Commander, DSP Alice Gyamfi, confirmed the story and said the body of the deceased had been taken to the Police Hospital mortuary for autopsy.
On the Odorkor incident, the District Police Commander, Superintendent Kwaku Asare, said the police received the report about 9 p.m. last Friday, after the deceased’s wife, Ms Adwoa Yeboah, had raised an alarm when she returned from market.
He said Kwarteng allegedly used a sponge to hang himself on the ceiling fan in the bedroom, adding that the body had been taken to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital mortuary for autopsy pending further investigations.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE police are investigating two suspected suicide cases which have rocked Odorkor and Chantan, both communities in Accra, involving a 42-year-old transport owner and a 32-year-old first-year student of the Pentecost University College, respectively.
The first of the suicide cases occurred last Friday when the transport owner, Isaac Kwarteng, allegedly used a sponge to hang himself on a ceiling fan in his bedroom at Odorkor.
Then this morning, jealousy was said to have driven Samuel Akpah of the Pentecost University College to hang himself with a necktie on a nim tree at Chantan.
The immediate cause of Kwarteng’s case is yet to be established.
Bernice Amedeke, 26, a fiancé of Sammy’s, screamed and wailed at the Mile Seven Police Station and asked that she be allowed to join Sammy, wherever he might be.
She said Sammy left the house about 4:30 a.m. yesterday with a necktie in hand.
According to her, when she asked him where he was going, since he had never left the house at that time of the day before, the deceased ignored her.
Ms Amedeke said just when she was about following him to seek an answer to her question, she got a call and stayed back to listen to it.
She said she followed up to the possible places Sammy could have gone to, since he was unemployed.
She said she returned to the house only to hear on radio that someone had committed suicide at a park near Alhaji, a suburb of Chantan.
Ms Amedeke said she quickly took a taxi to the place, only to find the deceased hanging on a nim tree.
As to whether there had been any misunderstanding between them, she said Sammy had suspected her of having an affair but she denied it.
She said the situation got worse when she returned home with a flower with Italian written on it.
She said when she said she was taking it to a priest to explain what it meant, Sammy raised an alarm that the flower confirmed that she was having an affair.
According to her, she was a Catholic and it was the Catholic Church that supported her training as a caterer and decorator and, therefore, the only place and the people she knew were the Catholic Church and its members.
Ms Amedeke said when she explained to Sammy that the only place she went was the church, he still did not believe her.
She said after a number of heated arguments, she decided to park out of Sammy’s house last Saturday, but the matter was resolved by the deceased’s aunt.
She said to the best of her knowledge, there was no problem between them.
The Mile Seven Police Commander, DSP Alice Gyamfi, confirmed the story and said the body of the deceased had been taken to the Police Hospital mortuary for autopsy.
On the Odorkor incident, the District Police Commander, Superintendent Kwaku Asare, said the police received the report about 9 p.m. last Friday, after the deceased’s wife, Ms Adwoa Yeboah, had raised an alarm when she returned from market.
He said Kwarteng allegedly used a sponge to hang himself on the ceiling fan in the bedroom, adding that the body had been taken to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital mortuary for autopsy pending further investigations.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Pastor's killers grabbed
Front Page: Daily Graphic, January 7, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE suspected killers of Rev Peter Nii Addy, head of the Enchi branch of the Light House Chapel, who was robbed of some property and murdered in Accra while attending a colleague’s wedding, have been arrested.
A desktop computer and two laptops retrieved from the suspects were identified as those stolen during the attack on the Gbawe Bulemin residence of Rev Frederick Adu Acheampong, founder of the Frontline Glory Chapel, where Reverend Addy was murdered.
Among other items retrieved were three pump-action guns, cartridges, machetes and masks.
The weapons were retrieved from a pit where the suspected robbers had hidden and covered them with tree stumps to prevent detection.
The killers of Rev Addy were said to have carried out another robbery and raped a lady in another house in the area on that same night of December 30, 2009.
Three of the four robbers were picked up last night at Asofaa near Ofankor while preparing to launch another attack.
The four suspects arrested are Ebow Kwabena, 30, Kofi Yeboah, 30, Osei Prempeh, 23, and Yaw Asamoah, 30.
The left thumb of Kofi Yeboah had been chopped off from what he said was a gunshot from a pistol he was practising with.
Rev Peter Nii Addy, 26, who was in Accra with his wife who was six months pregnant to attend the wedding of a Bishop of the Light House Chapel in Accra, was killed in cold blood by the armed robbers after he told them he did not have money on him.
Osei Prempeh was identified as one of the armed robbers who attacked Mrs Christiana Love at Sowutuom on May 11, 2007 during which they robbed her of her wedding ring and other items.
Prempeh is said to have also been discharged by an Accra Circuit Court in 2009 over another robbery case.
The Daily Graphic in its December 31, 2009 edition reported the killing of Rev Addy by armed robbers, who had stormed the Gbawe residence of Rev Acheampong at about 1 a.m.
After attacking the residence of the pastor, the robbers also attacked the residence of Alhaji Seidu, a businessman, and took away seven mobile phones, three DVD players and GH¢360.
One of the robbers also raped a 19-year-old lady in the residence of Alhaji Seidu.
Briefing newsmen in Accra yesterday after leading newsmen to the robbery site and where the weapons were hidden, the Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio Atinga, said 12 hours after the robbery incident, the police were able to retrieve some of the stolen items from some of the receivers.
She said the police were able to know the identities of the armed robbers and thereafter put in all its intelligence machinery into operation.
According to her, Ebow Kwabena was arrested at Prankese near Kade on January 3, 2010.
DCOP Atinga said Ebow allegedly confessed to taking part in the robbery and led the police to the site where the weapons were hidden.
She said after retrieving the items, the police heard that the other suspects were marshalling forces to attack a Ghanaian returnee (Burger) on the night of January 5, 2010.
She said Asamoah was arrested when he went to the site to collect the weapons for the operation that night.
DCOP Atinga said the police went to a place at Asofaa near Ofankor, where the suspects were to assemble before striking and subsequently arrested Kofi Yeboah and Osei Prempeh.
The Accra police boss said the group had admitted to being responsible for most of the robbery cases around Gbawe and Ablekuma.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE suspected killers of Rev Peter Nii Addy, head of the Enchi branch of the Light House Chapel, who was robbed of some property and murdered in Accra while attending a colleague’s wedding, have been arrested.
A desktop computer and two laptops retrieved from the suspects were identified as those stolen during the attack on the Gbawe Bulemin residence of Rev Frederick Adu Acheampong, founder of the Frontline Glory Chapel, where Reverend Addy was murdered.
Among other items retrieved were three pump-action guns, cartridges, machetes and masks.
The weapons were retrieved from a pit where the suspected robbers had hidden and covered them with tree stumps to prevent detection.
The killers of Rev Addy were said to have carried out another robbery and raped a lady in another house in the area on that same night of December 30, 2009.
Three of the four robbers were picked up last night at Asofaa near Ofankor while preparing to launch another attack.
The four suspects arrested are Ebow Kwabena, 30, Kofi Yeboah, 30, Osei Prempeh, 23, and Yaw Asamoah, 30.
The left thumb of Kofi Yeboah had been chopped off from what he said was a gunshot from a pistol he was practising with.
Rev Peter Nii Addy, 26, who was in Accra with his wife who was six months pregnant to attend the wedding of a Bishop of the Light House Chapel in Accra, was killed in cold blood by the armed robbers after he told them he did not have money on him.
Osei Prempeh was identified as one of the armed robbers who attacked Mrs Christiana Love at Sowutuom on May 11, 2007 during which they robbed her of her wedding ring and other items.
Prempeh is said to have also been discharged by an Accra Circuit Court in 2009 over another robbery case.
The Daily Graphic in its December 31, 2009 edition reported the killing of Rev Addy by armed robbers, who had stormed the Gbawe residence of Rev Acheampong at about 1 a.m.
After attacking the residence of the pastor, the robbers also attacked the residence of Alhaji Seidu, a businessman, and took away seven mobile phones, three DVD players and GH¢360.
One of the robbers also raped a 19-year-old lady in the residence of Alhaji Seidu.
Briefing newsmen in Accra yesterday after leading newsmen to the robbery site and where the weapons were hidden, the Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio Atinga, said 12 hours after the robbery incident, the police were able to retrieve some of the stolen items from some of the receivers.
She said the police were able to know the identities of the armed robbers and thereafter put in all its intelligence machinery into operation.
According to her, Ebow Kwabena was arrested at Prankese near Kade on January 3, 2010.
DCOP Atinga said Ebow allegedly confessed to taking part in the robbery and led the police to the site where the weapons were hidden.
She said after retrieving the items, the police heard that the other suspects were marshalling forces to attack a Ghanaian returnee (Burger) on the night of January 5, 2010.
She said Asamoah was arrested when he went to the site to collect the weapons for the operation that night.
DCOP Atinga said the police went to a place at Asofaa near Ofankor, where the suspects were to assemble before striking and subsequently arrested Kofi Yeboah and Osei Prempeh.
The Accra police boss said the group had admitted to being responsible for most of the robbery cases around Gbawe and Ablekuma.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Nine robberies recorded December 24-30
Page 30: Daily Graphic, January 4, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THERE were nine robberies between December 24 and December 30, 2009 in the Accra and Brong Ahafo regions.
There were also three disasters, made up of one suspected murder and two fire outbreaks within the same period.
Out of the robbery cases, two were car-snatching incidents, one street robbery, one highway and three residential robberies, with Accra registering eight of the cases.
Five of the robbery cases took place on Boxing Day, between the hours of 12 midnight and 8:30am.
Reviewing the crime situation within the Yuletide with the Daily Graphic, the Deputy Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Cephas Arthur, said at about 6:30pm on December 24, 2009, three young men, armed with locally made pistols attacked Mr Eric Gerbs at the Pantang Junction and took away his Mitsubishi pick-up with registration number GT 1744 Z.
He said the robbers also collected the victim’s GH¢1,100 and one carton of pineapple juice.
He said on Boxing Day at about 12:05am, three armed robbers attacked a Lebanese at his residence at Agyiri-Ganor and robbed him of GH¢1,200, four mobile phones and four laptops.
ASP Arthur said at about 1am on the same day, six armed men attacked a businesswoman at Channel V, Nungua and took away GH¢1,200 from her residence, broke into her stores and robbed her of an unspecified amount, being her daily sales and assorted mobile phone cards, all valued at GH¢50,000.
According to him, one person, identified as Michael Akuffo, had been arrested on suspicion of being part of the gang that robbed the woman.
ASP Arthur said three men also attacked another woman at her residence at the Trade Fair area at about 2am and robbed her of GH¢1,500, $200 and three mobile phones.
On the fourth robbery incident on Boxing Day, he said at about 5:30am two men who hired a taxi with registration number GR 7114-09 from Accra to Kaneshie, snatched the taxi from the driver when they got to the TV Africa area. The taxi was, however, found abandoned at Tema.
He said the last of the robbery incidents on Boxing Day took place at about 8:30am at Amasaman when two men, who had hired a taxi with registration number GE 8631-09 from Ofankor to Amasaman robbed the driver of his two mobile phones, licence and other documents.
He said the police had arrested one person, Kofi Densu, in connection with the case.
ASP Arthur said the other robbery cases were recorded at Gbawe in Accra on December 30, 2009, one of which resulted in the death of Rev. Peter Nii Addy, while the second involved the robbing of Alhaji Seidu, also in Gbawe on the same day.
Touching on the other cases, ASP Arthur said the body of a male adult was found lying at a spot near the St John’s School at Achimota on Christmas Day.
He said the police found the body lying in a prostrate position with blood and foam oozing from both ???her??? nostrils and mouth. When the body was inspected, the police saw marks of assault, suggesting foul play.
ASP Arthur said the body of the deceased had been deposited at the Police Hospital morgue, awaiting autopsy.
He said fire also engulfed the Komkomba Market on December 28, 2009 destroying some wooden structures.
He said another fire outbreak was recorded on December 30, 2009 at Tantra Hill in Accra resulting in the death of two children in a kiosk.
ASP Arthur said the only incident recorded in the Brong Ahafo Region was when residents of Sampa arrested three men who were part of a gang of five, attacking and robbing travellers on the Sampa-Beblei road.
He said the residents were able to retrieve GH¢410, two shotguns, 25 mobile phones and 16 cartridges from the three suspects: Issah Abdulai, 22; Issifu Haruna, 20, and a third suspect, identified only as Sulley, aged 20.
He said the suspects have been handed over to the police.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THERE were nine robberies between December 24 and December 30, 2009 in the Accra and Brong Ahafo regions.
There were also three disasters, made up of one suspected murder and two fire outbreaks within the same period.
Out of the robbery cases, two were car-snatching incidents, one street robbery, one highway and three residential robberies, with Accra registering eight of the cases.
Five of the robbery cases took place on Boxing Day, between the hours of 12 midnight and 8:30am.
Reviewing the crime situation within the Yuletide with the Daily Graphic, the Deputy Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Cephas Arthur, said at about 6:30pm on December 24, 2009, three young men, armed with locally made pistols attacked Mr Eric Gerbs at the Pantang Junction and took away his Mitsubishi pick-up with registration number GT 1744 Z.
He said the robbers also collected the victim’s GH¢1,100 and one carton of pineapple juice.
He said on Boxing Day at about 12:05am, three armed robbers attacked a Lebanese at his residence at Agyiri-Ganor and robbed him of GH¢1,200, four mobile phones and four laptops.
ASP Arthur said at about 1am on the same day, six armed men attacked a businesswoman at Channel V, Nungua and took away GH¢1,200 from her residence, broke into her stores and robbed her of an unspecified amount, being her daily sales and assorted mobile phone cards, all valued at GH¢50,000.
According to him, one person, identified as Michael Akuffo, had been arrested on suspicion of being part of the gang that robbed the woman.
ASP Arthur said three men also attacked another woman at her residence at the Trade Fair area at about 2am and robbed her of GH¢1,500, $200 and three mobile phones.
On the fourth robbery incident on Boxing Day, he said at about 5:30am two men who hired a taxi with registration number GR 7114-09 from Accra to Kaneshie, snatched the taxi from the driver when they got to the TV Africa area. The taxi was, however, found abandoned at Tema.
He said the last of the robbery incidents on Boxing Day took place at about 8:30am at Amasaman when two men, who had hired a taxi with registration number GE 8631-09 from Ofankor to Amasaman robbed the driver of his two mobile phones, licence and other documents.
He said the police had arrested one person, Kofi Densu, in connection with the case.
ASP Arthur said the other robbery cases were recorded at Gbawe in Accra on December 30, 2009, one of which resulted in the death of Rev. Peter Nii Addy, while the second involved the robbing of Alhaji Seidu, also in Gbawe on the same day.
Touching on the other cases, ASP Arthur said the body of a male adult was found lying at a spot near the St John’s School at Achimota on Christmas Day.
He said the police found the body lying in a prostrate position with blood and foam oozing from both ???her??? nostrils and mouth. When the body was inspected, the police saw marks of assault, suggesting foul play.
ASP Arthur said the body of the deceased had been deposited at the Police Hospital morgue, awaiting autopsy.
He said fire also engulfed the Komkomba Market on December 28, 2009 destroying some wooden structures.
He said another fire outbreak was recorded on December 30, 2009 at Tantra Hill in Accra resulting in the death of two children in a kiosk.
ASP Arthur said the only incident recorded in the Brong Ahafo Region was when residents of Sampa arrested three men who were part of a gang of five, attacking and robbing travellers on the Sampa-Beblei road.
He said the residents were able to retrieve GH¢410, two shotguns, 25 mobile phones and 16 cartridges from the three suspects: Issah Abdulai, 22; Issifu Haruna, 20, and a third suspect, identified only as Sulley, aged 20.
He said the suspects have been handed over to the police.
Four robbers grabbed * In separate incidents
Page 3: Daily Graphic, January 2, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
FOUR young men, who took part in two separate robbery incidents on December 29 and 30, 2009, have been arrested by the police.
One of them, Randy Naab, 21, single-handedly attacked and robbed the D’Angello Boutique on December 30, 2009, while the remaining, Jonathan Yartey, alias Paa Joe, Enoch Okpoti Ashong and Masawudu Awudu attempted to snatch a taxi.
The timely arrival of the police on the scene, however, averted the robbery.
The police were able to retrieve 17 jeans trousers, nine T-shirts, GH¢100 and two mobile phones from Randy Naab.
The Osu District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr Peter Yembilla, told newsmen that about 2:30 p.m. on December 30, 2009, Randy entered the D’Angello Boutique at Osu on the pretext of buying some jeans trousers.
He said the suspect sought to know the prices of the trousers from the sales girl on duty.
According to him, just when the lady got closer to him, Randy pulled a pistol at her and took her to a storeroom, bound and gagged her with a cellotape.
Mr Yembilla said Randy then allegedly pulled the trousers of the sales girl down, lifted her blouse and sucked her breasts after she had pleaded that the suspect should not rape her.
The District Commander said the suspect then picked up 17 jeans trousers, nine T-shirts, two mobile phones and GH¢100 from the boutique and left.
Mr Yembilla said the sales girl struggled to the entrance of the boutique where a passer-by assisted her in removing the cellotape on her mouth and untying her hands and legs.
He said after giving the alarm, the suspect was seen 50 metres away from the boutique selling the items and was subsequently arrested.
He said the suspect led the police to a makeshift apartment near the La Lagoon on the Teshie Road, where idols and other accoutrements such as five machetes were retrieved.
With regard to the attempted car snatching incident, the La District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr Yao Tettegah, said a patrol team overheard screaming of someone for a help, and drove to the area.
He said the police saw Enoch struggling with the taxi driver, but allegedly took to his heels on seeing the police.
He said the police pursued Enoch amidst firing of warning shots, attracting other patrol teams to the area.
Mr Tettegah said after Enoch was arrested, he mentioned Paa Joe and Awudu as his accomplices, leading to their arrest.
Story: Albert K. Salia
FOUR young men, who took part in two separate robbery incidents on December 29 and 30, 2009, have been arrested by the police.
One of them, Randy Naab, 21, single-handedly attacked and robbed the D’Angello Boutique on December 30, 2009, while the remaining, Jonathan Yartey, alias Paa Joe, Enoch Okpoti Ashong and Masawudu Awudu attempted to snatch a taxi.
The timely arrival of the police on the scene, however, averted the robbery.
The police were able to retrieve 17 jeans trousers, nine T-shirts, GH¢100 and two mobile phones from Randy Naab.
The Osu District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr Peter Yembilla, told newsmen that about 2:30 p.m. on December 30, 2009, Randy entered the D’Angello Boutique at Osu on the pretext of buying some jeans trousers.
He said the suspect sought to know the prices of the trousers from the sales girl on duty.
According to him, just when the lady got closer to him, Randy pulled a pistol at her and took her to a storeroom, bound and gagged her with a cellotape.
Mr Yembilla said Randy then allegedly pulled the trousers of the sales girl down, lifted her blouse and sucked her breasts after she had pleaded that the suspect should not rape her.
The District Commander said the suspect then picked up 17 jeans trousers, nine T-shirts, two mobile phones and GH¢100 from the boutique and left.
Mr Yembilla said the sales girl struggled to the entrance of the boutique where a passer-by assisted her in removing the cellotape on her mouth and untying her hands and legs.
He said after giving the alarm, the suspect was seen 50 metres away from the boutique selling the items and was subsequently arrested.
He said the suspect led the police to a makeshift apartment near the La Lagoon on the Teshie Road, where idols and other accoutrements such as five machetes were retrieved.
With regard to the attempted car snatching incident, the La District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr Yao Tettegah, said a patrol team overheard screaming of someone for a help, and drove to the area.
He said the police saw Enoch struggling with the taxi driver, but allegedly took to his heels on seeing the police.
He said the police pursued Enoch amidst firing of warning shots, attracting other patrol teams to the area.
Mr Tettegah said after Enoch was arrested, he mentioned Paa Joe and Awudu as his accomplices, leading to their arrest.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Brutal end to 2009 HORROR ALL OVER * 2 kids burnt to death in Accra * Pastor killed by armed robbers * wife commits suicide in K'si
Stories: Albert K. Salia (Accra) & Kwame Asare Boadu (K’si)
FROM the Tantra Hills and Gbawe, both in Accra, to the Parakou Estates in Kumasi, a treble of tragic events have claimed four lives and shattered the dreams of some families to end 2009 in peace.
The catalogue of horrors includes the misfortune of a 26-year-old man of God, Reverend Peter Nii Addy, who had travelled all the way from Enchi in the Western Region to attend a colleague’s wedding in Accra, only to be robbed and killed by armed robbers.
It also includes a suspected case of suicide involving a 20-year-old Indian woman in Kumasi and the burning to death of two young sisters in Accra.
Although the pastor’s killers are on the run, the sad story of the two sisters who were left asleep in a candle-lit kiosk at Tantra Hill in Accra and got burnt to death as a result has landed their 26-year-old mother in police custody.
Jessica Gyamfuah Darkwah, three, and her younger sister, Edna Yeboaa Darkwah, two and a half, were asleep in the kiosk near the Champion Divine Clinic at Tantra Hill about 10.30 p.m. on Tuesday when their mother locked it up, allegedly to visit her boyfriend.
The mother, Rosina Botwe, 26, returned at dawn to discover that in her absence the kiosk had caught fire and burnt the children to death.
Rosina, who is currently being held by the Mile Seven Police, told the Daily Graphic that she left the lighted candle so that the children would not cry when they woke up in the dark.
She said some friends called her when the kiosk was on fire but she said she thought they were only trying to get her out of her boyfriend’s room.
According to her, her friends were not in favour of her new relationship which she entered into after her children’s father was jailed in May this year for fraud.
The sobbing Rosina said she was shocked when she got back and found the mess.
The Mile 7 District Police Commander, ASP Alice Gyamfi, said the police were holding her for negligence and manslaughter.
The bodies of the two children have been deposited at the Police Hospital Mortuary for autopsy.
In the Gbawe incident, armed robbers attacked the residence of Rev Frederick Adu Acheampong, the Founder of the Frontline Glory Chapel, at dawn yesterday, robbed the household of money and valuables and killed Rev Addy, a pastor of the Lighthouse Chapel, who was also in the house.
Rev Addy, 26, who was the pastor in charge of the Enchi branch of the Lighthouse Chapel, was in Accra with his wife, who is six months pregnant, to attend the wedding of a colleague pastor of the Lighthouse Chapel, Bishop E. A. T. Sackey, and they were due to return to their base in the Western Region yesterday when he met his brutal death at the hands of the robbers.
Narrating the incident to the Daily Graphic, Rev Acheampong, who played host to Rev Addy and his wife, Lily, said he left the couple to pray in the main compound of his house about 12:45 a.m.
He said less than 15 minutes into the prayers, three young men, one of whom was in a mask, entered the compound.
According to him, all the three men carried guns, with one of them having a crowbar in addition, and they marched him (Rev Acheampong) into the hall of the house.
Rev Acheampong said Rev Addy was asleep in the hall, while his wife, Lily, was watching a religious movie.
He said two of the robbers took him (Acheampong) to his bedroom where they collected his wife’s jewellery, including their wedding rings, watches and some money.
He said the other robber took Mrs Addy to their room where he took her wedding ring and GH¢40 and returned to the hall to march Rev Addy to the bedroom to collect more money.
Rev Acheampong said he overheard Rev Addy say there was no more money in the room and the next thing he heard was a gunshot.
According to him, when the two robbers sent him and his wife back to the hall, he (Acheampong) saw Mrs Addy lean on his husband and sob.
He said the robbers immediately took two laptops, one belonging to the deceased, and a desktop computer and went out.
He said unknown to them, there was a fourth robber who was keeping guard outside and who shouted at the robbers to come out, since the vehicle had come to take them away.
Rev Acheampong said he rushed to pick Rev Addy when the robbers released him and realised that Rev Addy had been shot in the upper abdomen and was bleeding profusely.
He said he immediately arranged to take him to the hospital but he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The Odorkor District Crime Officer, DSP Baffour Apenteng, who also confirmed the incident to the Daily Graphic, said the armed robbers had earlier snatched a KIA taxi, with registration number GS 4838-09, which they used for the robbery.
He said after attacking the residence of the pastor, the robbers also attacked the residence of Alhaji Seidu, a businessman, and took away seven mobile phones, three DVD players and GH¢360 without any casualty.
He said investigations were underway and appealed to members of the public to assist the police to bring the perpetrators to book.
In Kumasi, a 20-year-old Indian woman who joined her husband in Ghana barely a month ago, is reported to have blown off her head with the husband’s gun at their Parakuo Estate home.
The deceased, Soumya Markkur, allegedly committed the act when her husband was out at work.
The incident occurred last Monday, December 28, 2009.
Her husband, Mr Kishan Anchen, an Indian businessman, is helping the police in their investigations into the case.
The police are yet to disclose further details of the incident, saying it was too early to do so.
They said, however, that no suicide note was left and they were yet to establish any preliminary cause of the woman’s death.
However, sources at the Parakuo Estate where the couple lived told the Daily Graphic that the woman had been embroiled in some marital problems with the husband since she arrived from India.
The Commander of the Kumasi Central Police, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Frank Abrokwah, said the couple, who had no issue, had been married for about a year but the woman lived in India, while the man lived and worked in Kumasi.
According to the District Commander, about 2 p.m. on December 28, 2009, his outfit had information that an Indian woman had committed suicide in her matrimonial home.
He said the team that was dispatched to the house saw the woman dead in a pool of blood in the bedroom, with the pistol beside her remains.
DSP Abrokwah said the widower claimed that he had left home for work at Asokwa in Kumasi about 7.30 a.m. that day when her wife was still in bed.
Mr Kishen was said to have returned to the house about 11.30 a.m., only to find the door to their bedroom locked.
According to DSP Abrokwah, the man claimed to have repeatedly knocked the door but there was no response.
Mr Kishen then called some security personnel at the main gate to the house to help him force the door open and, to his surprise, he found her wife in a pool of blood, with the gun beside her.
DSP Abrokwah stated that the police also found a spent shell in the room.
The police, he said, had taken custody of the pistol, while the remains of the woman had been placed in the morgue at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital pending further investigations.
FROM the Tantra Hills and Gbawe, both in Accra, to the Parakou Estates in Kumasi, a treble of tragic events have claimed four lives and shattered the dreams of some families to end 2009 in peace.
The catalogue of horrors includes the misfortune of a 26-year-old man of God, Reverend Peter Nii Addy, who had travelled all the way from Enchi in the Western Region to attend a colleague’s wedding in Accra, only to be robbed and killed by armed robbers.
It also includes a suspected case of suicide involving a 20-year-old Indian woman in Kumasi and the burning to death of two young sisters in Accra.
Although the pastor’s killers are on the run, the sad story of the two sisters who were left asleep in a candle-lit kiosk at Tantra Hill in Accra and got burnt to death as a result has landed their 26-year-old mother in police custody.
Jessica Gyamfuah Darkwah, three, and her younger sister, Edna Yeboaa Darkwah, two and a half, were asleep in the kiosk near the Champion Divine Clinic at Tantra Hill about 10.30 p.m. on Tuesday when their mother locked it up, allegedly to visit her boyfriend.
The mother, Rosina Botwe, 26, returned at dawn to discover that in her absence the kiosk had caught fire and burnt the children to death.
Rosina, who is currently being held by the Mile Seven Police, told the Daily Graphic that she left the lighted candle so that the children would not cry when they woke up in the dark.
She said some friends called her when the kiosk was on fire but she said she thought they were only trying to get her out of her boyfriend’s room.
According to her, her friends were not in favour of her new relationship which she entered into after her children’s father was jailed in May this year for fraud.
The sobbing Rosina said she was shocked when she got back and found the mess.
The Mile 7 District Police Commander, ASP Alice Gyamfi, said the police were holding her for negligence and manslaughter.
The bodies of the two children have been deposited at the Police Hospital Mortuary for autopsy.
In the Gbawe incident, armed robbers attacked the residence of Rev Frederick Adu Acheampong, the Founder of the Frontline Glory Chapel, at dawn yesterday, robbed the household of money and valuables and killed Rev Addy, a pastor of the Lighthouse Chapel, who was also in the house.
Rev Addy, 26, who was the pastor in charge of the Enchi branch of the Lighthouse Chapel, was in Accra with his wife, who is six months pregnant, to attend the wedding of a colleague pastor of the Lighthouse Chapel, Bishop E. A. T. Sackey, and they were due to return to their base in the Western Region yesterday when he met his brutal death at the hands of the robbers.
Narrating the incident to the Daily Graphic, Rev Acheampong, who played host to Rev Addy and his wife, Lily, said he left the couple to pray in the main compound of his house about 12:45 a.m.
He said less than 15 minutes into the prayers, three young men, one of whom was in a mask, entered the compound.
According to him, all the three men carried guns, with one of them having a crowbar in addition, and they marched him (Rev Acheampong) into the hall of the house.
Rev Acheampong said Rev Addy was asleep in the hall, while his wife, Lily, was watching a religious movie.
He said two of the robbers took him (Acheampong) to his bedroom where they collected his wife’s jewellery, including their wedding rings, watches and some money.
He said the other robber took Mrs Addy to their room where he took her wedding ring and GH¢40 and returned to the hall to march Rev Addy to the bedroom to collect more money.
Rev Acheampong said he overheard Rev Addy say there was no more money in the room and the next thing he heard was a gunshot.
According to him, when the two robbers sent him and his wife back to the hall, he (Acheampong) saw Mrs Addy lean on his husband and sob.
He said the robbers immediately took two laptops, one belonging to the deceased, and a desktop computer and went out.
He said unknown to them, there was a fourth robber who was keeping guard outside and who shouted at the robbers to come out, since the vehicle had come to take them away.
Rev Acheampong said he rushed to pick Rev Addy when the robbers released him and realised that Rev Addy had been shot in the upper abdomen and was bleeding profusely.
He said he immediately arranged to take him to the hospital but he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The Odorkor District Crime Officer, DSP Baffour Apenteng, who also confirmed the incident to the Daily Graphic, said the armed robbers had earlier snatched a KIA taxi, with registration number GS 4838-09, which they used for the robbery.
He said after attacking the residence of the pastor, the robbers also attacked the residence of Alhaji Seidu, a businessman, and took away seven mobile phones, three DVD players and GH¢360 without any casualty.
He said investigations were underway and appealed to members of the public to assist the police to bring the perpetrators to book.
In Kumasi, a 20-year-old Indian woman who joined her husband in Ghana barely a month ago, is reported to have blown off her head with the husband’s gun at their Parakuo Estate home.
The deceased, Soumya Markkur, allegedly committed the act when her husband was out at work.
The incident occurred last Monday, December 28, 2009.
Her husband, Mr Kishan Anchen, an Indian businessman, is helping the police in their investigations into the case.
The police are yet to disclose further details of the incident, saying it was too early to do so.
They said, however, that no suicide note was left and they were yet to establish any preliminary cause of the woman’s death.
However, sources at the Parakuo Estate where the couple lived told the Daily Graphic that the woman had been embroiled in some marital problems with the husband since she arrived from India.
The Commander of the Kumasi Central Police, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Frank Abrokwah, said the couple, who had no issue, had been married for about a year but the woman lived in India, while the man lived and worked in Kumasi.
According to the District Commander, about 2 p.m. on December 28, 2009, his outfit had information that an Indian woman had committed suicide in her matrimonial home.
He said the team that was dispatched to the house saw the woman dead in a pool of blood in the bedroom, with the pistol beside her remains.
DSP Abrokwah said the widower claimed that he had left home for work at Asokwa in Kumasi about 7.30 a.m. that day when her wife was still in bed.
Mr Kishen was said to have returned to the house about 11.30 a.m., only to find the door to their bedroom locked.
According to DSP Abrokwah, the man claimed to have repeatedly knocked the door but there was no response.
Mr Kishen then called some security personnel at the main gate to the house to help him force the door open and, to his surprise, he found her wife in a pool of blood, with the gun beside her.
DSP Abrokwah stated that the police also found a spent shell in the room.
The police, he said, had taken custody of the pistol, while the remains of the woman had been placed in the morgue at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital pending further investigations.
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