Man Kills Son- in-Law

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday August 2, 2007
A 47-YEAR-OLD man, Kwaku Mensah, was allegedly shot dead at Ashongman, Accra, by his bedridden father-in-law early in the morning of yesterday for unknown reasons.

For residents of the Bank of Ghana Estate at Ashongman, the question is how Kwadwo Ahovi who could not walk, was able to enter Mensah’s room take his gun and shoot him at close range.

Ahovi, believed to be in his seventies, had lived with his daughter’s family for the past six months and was being looked after by Mensah and his wife.

When the Times visited the scene at about 8.20 am, Mensah was lying in a pool of blood in front of his house with Ahovi, sitting beside the body calmly with the murder weapon lying close by.

The Times learnt that Ahovi suspected by residents to be the murderer was asked to remain at the crime scene until police arrived.

His daughter Abla Ahovi, Mensah’s wife told the Times that the family had lived with Ahovi since he was taken ill six months ago.

She said that while Ahovi slept in the hall she, Mensah and two of the children slept in the bedroom.

Abla further said her father had been bedridden for sometime and “he normally crawls when he wants to get fresh air outside.”

She told this reporter that by the time she got up at dawn to attend to nature’s call, Mensah was already outside.

She said while passing through the hall, she noticed that Ahovi was crawling into their room but did not enquire from him what he was looking for.

“He used to come to our room and I was thinking it was one of his usual visits. It was after the murder that I realised that he had come for my husband’s gun and some bullets which he used in killing him.”

Abla recalled that while at the toilet, she heard a gunshot and quickly rushed back only to find Mensah lying in a pool of blood and Ahovi sitting with the gun.

Mawutor Akatey Mensah’s son, said that he heard the gunshot from his room nearby and when he rushed there he saw his father writhing in pain for a few minutes before he died.

He said he quickly retrieved the gun from his grandfather who sat calmly but will not answer any question.

At the time this reporter left the scene, a police ambulance from the Police Hospital had arrived to convey the corpse to the mortuary.