9 nabbed for murder of two pals

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday February 24, 2011.
THE CASE of two friends and three dogs that were mysteriously killed after allegedly being struck by lightning last week at Wawaase near Assin Fosu in the Central Region has taken a new twist.

Following an autopsy report which indicated that Yaw Bondam, 33 and Nicolas Fianyo, 25 died from being hit with heavy objects rather than lightning as initially claimed, the Assin Fosu Divisional Police Command moved swiftly and arrested nine persons who they suspect committed the crime.

The nine are Yaw Owusu, 26, farmer; Kofi Tawiah 42, farmer; Kwasi Ayisah 42, palm wine tapper; George Tweneboah 34, farmer and Tetteh Galloway 42, also a farmer.
The rest are Denis Adoba, 52 farmer; Francis Ransford Oppong aka Apitipi, 48; Charles Eyiah aka Kwame Clinton 30 and Ebenezer Amuzu aka Ogyatanaa, 29, a farmer and herbalist.

They were all arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Fosu on Monday, charged with two counts of murder except Ogyatanaa who was charged with abetment.

The court presided over by Mr. Joseph Blay did not take their plea and remanded them into police custody until March 8, 2011.

They had no legal representation when the case was called.

According to ASP J.K. Ansu, Assin Fosu Divisional Crime Officer the deceased together with the accused persons except Ogyatanaa went to drink palm wine in a farm at Wawaase but whilst there the rains started pouring so some of the accused persons sought shelter at a nearby cottage.

After the rain, the Ayisah claimed he came back to the scene and saw Bondam and Fianoo lifeless bodies and that of the three dogs.

ASP Ansu said Ayisah raised an alarm and Yaw Owusu came around so he was asked to rush to Wawaase to inform the deceased family.

He said instead of informing the police about the incident, the accused persons went to the cottage of Ogyatanaa to get him to perform rituals after which the herbalist told them that it was lightning that struck and killed Bondam and Fianyo.

He said Ogyatanaa then asked the family members to take the bodies away for burial which they did.

On February 11, 2011 at about 8:30 pm police got hint that two bodies had been deposited at the St. Francis Catholic Hospital at Fosu with multiple cutlass wounds on their chests, heads and other parts of their bodies.

ASP Ansu said the police subsequently brought in a pathologist from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi to conduct autopsy and the results confirmed that Bondam and Fianyo were indeed hit with heavy objects.

According to the pathologist Bondam suffered severe neck burns, chest injuries with massive bleed from the chest cavity and there were indication of severe assault.

On the body of Fianyo, the pathologist reported that he suffered subdural bleed as a result of head injury and had also been heavily assaulted.
ASP Ansu said the matter is still under investigation.