State prosecutors will on October 16, this year, address a seven-member jury on why the 14 persons accused of the murder of Major Maxwell Mahama at Denkyira Obuasi in the Central Region should be convicted.
The Criminal Division of the High Court in Accra presided over by Justice Mariama Owusu, Justice of the Supreme Court sitting as an additional High Court Judge, fixed the date after the prosecution led by Chief State Attorney, Mrs Evelyn Keelson, had called 14 witnesses to firm up its case against the accused persons.
After the prosecution had addressed the jury, the defense counsel would also rebut the arguments of the prosecution before the seven-member jury.
Following that, the trial judge would address the jury on their role and the charges before finally giving the jury the opportunity to bring their verdict on the accused persons.
Murder
Major Mahama was the captain of the 31-member military team sent to the town to guard the properties of C&G Mining Company as a result of illegal mining activities in the area.
The then Assembly member for the area, William Baah, alias Misty, is standing trial for abetment of murder while the other 13 are facing charges of conspiracy to commit murder and substantive charge of murder.
The rest of the accused persons are Bernard Asamoah, alias Daddy, Kofi Nyame aka Abortion, Charles Kwaning aka Akwasi Boah, Kwame Tuffour, Joseph Appiah Kubi, Michael Anim, and Bismarck Donkor, John Bosie, Akwasi Asante, Charles Kwaning, Emmanuel Badu, Bismarck Abanga, and Kwadwo Anima.
They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges and have been in custody since 2018.
Brief facts
The facts presented by the prosecution were that Major Mahama was the commander of a military detachment stationed at Diaso in the Upper Denkyira West District in the Central Region to check illegal mining activities.
At 8 a.m. on May 29, 2017, Major Mahama, wearing civilian clothes but with his sidearm, left his detachment base for a 20-kilometre jog.
At 9:25 a.m., the military officer got to the outskirts of Denkyira Obuasi, where a number of women were selling foodstuff by the roadside.
He stopped to interact with the women and even bought some snails, which he left in their custody to be taken up on his return from jogging.
While he was taking out money from his pocket to pay for the snails, the woman from whom he had bought the snails and a few others saw his sidearm tucked to his waist.
Soon after he left, one of the women telephoned the assembly member for Denkyira Obuasi to report what they had seen.
“Without verifying the information, the assembly member mobilized the accused persons and others, some now at large, to attack the military officer,” the prosecution stated.
It added that the mob met Major Mahama near the Denkyira Obuasi cemetery and, without giving him the opportunity to explain and identify himself, “attacked him with implements such as clubs, cement blocks, and machetes, killed him and burnt a portion of his body”.
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