Kofi Tua aka Ojugu, who is in police custody, allegedly murdered his nephew, 52-year-old Akwasi Asante alias Oga, a farmer, after the deceased complained about his amorous relationship with a supposed mentally-challenged woman.
Daily Guide gathered that the deceased, who was drunk at the time of the incident, entered the suspect’s room to walk out the woman while she and her ‘old’ lover were in bed having sex.
Incensed about Asante’s conduct, the palm wine tapper reached for a sharp knife and stabbed the deceased in the chest, sending him to the ground. The suspect was said to have allegedly threatened to kill somebody a few hours before Friday’s bloody incident.
The paper learnt that the deceased writhed, with blood oozing from the wound until he died soon after his wife, Yaa Hannah, 38, returned from the market. Yaa Hannah, a petty trader, was also stabbed in the hand by the suspect when she accused him of murdering her husband in cold blood.
The 38-year-old mother of two, who fell unconscious, however survived the attack. Some buckets of water which was poured on her by members of the household helped her regain consciousness before being taken to the hospital for medical attention. In her opinion, her husband could have survived if he was rushed to the hospital for intensive medical care.
She said she felt uneasy at the market and around 12:30pm, she decided to come home to check on her five-year-old child who was ill at home, only her to find her husband in a pool of blood in the suspect’s room. She expressed surprise at the suspect’s dastardly act because the two family men were seen drinking together at a spot that fateful morning.
But for the swift response of the Sofo-Line police personnel, led by Suntreso District Crime Officer, ASP Matthew Nkwantabisa to the scene, the suspect would have been lynched by an angry mob.
Confirming the incident, ASP Nkwantabisa told Daily Guide the suspect admitted to stabbing his nephew due to a provocation from the deceased. He said the suspect was having sex with his mistress, a mentally-challenged woman called Afua Birago, 33, who is a key witness in the case, when the incident happened.
According to the crime officer, the deceased, who was drunk at that time, confronted the woman about why she was in his uncle’s room when he had warned her not to come to the house anymore.
The deceased was said to have slapped the woman and prevented them from having further sex. Provoked by the development, the suspect got up from the bed, took a sharp knife he had been using for tapping palm wine and stabbed the deceased in the left chest.
The police officer said the suspect, after committing the crime, cleaned the blood stains off the knife with ashes and water and hid it under some firewood. At Sofo Line Police Station where he was detained, the suspect said, “I have accomplished my mission and I am ready to face the law.”
ASP Nkwantabisa said the suspect would be arraigned even as investigations continue into the case. Meanwhile, the body of the deceased has since been deposited at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) morgue in Kumasi for autopsy.
Read more: