I did not think Major Mahama was an armed robber – Witness

General News on Thursday, April 4, 2019

Source: Graphic.com.gh

2019-04-04

A prosecution witness told the Accra High Court that he did not think Major Maxwell Adam Mahama was an armed robber when he had seen his body after being lynched in Denkyira Obuasi.

Detective Sergeant Solomon Sakyi-Armah, the eighth prosecution witness and one of the first police officers to visit the scene of the incident, was in court to testify at the trial of the 14 people suspected of being in custody. to have conspired and killed the soldier.

The witness made his statement yesterday during the cross-examination of one of the defense lawyers, Anim Addo.

Below are excerpts from what happened between the witness and his counsel: Mr. Anim Addo: When you arrived at the scene and found the body, did you think that the person was a person? armed robber?

Det. Sergeant Sakyi-Armah: No, I did not do it.

Mr. Anim Addo: Why did not you think that person was an armed robber?

Det. Sergeant Sakyi-Armah: At that time, I had no information about him so I could not infer that he was an armed robber.

Armed robbery

Another defense lawyer, Mr. Augustine Gyamfi, asked the witness whether the cases of armed robbery were widespread in Denkyira Obuasi and its surroundings. The witness replied that these cases were normally reported to the police, especially during the festivities.

On the basis of this response, the lawyer asked the witness whether it was unusual for the residents of Denkyira Obuasi to have acted as they did while lynching the military officer.

The presiding judge, Judge Mariama Owusu, a judge of the Court of Appeal with additional responsibilities as a High Court Judge, however, rejected the issue, explaining that it was up to the jury to determine it.

The issue of armed robbery has become a major issue for defense lawyers. During the cross-examination of the Prosecution witnesses, they tried to prove that their clients were not conspiring to kill the military officer, but that Major Mahama had been killed because the inhabitants of Denkyira Obuasi thought that they were going to kill him. he was an armed robber.

The cross-examination should continue today.

Chief Evidence

Led by the prosecutor, Ms. Frances Mullen Ansah, Attorney General, Det. Sergeant Sakyi-Armah told the court in his examination-in-chief that he was stationed at Denkyira Dumenase, not far from Denkyira Obuasi.

According to him, on May 29, 2017, he was at the police station when he received a call from a friend telling him that there was an armed robber in Denkyira Obuasi.

The policeman stated that he had informed his commander and that he had gone on site with other police officers.

He said he called the police in Diaso because Denkyira Obuasi was under the jurisdiction of the Diaso police.

The witness stated that when he arrived at Denkyira Obuasi, he saw about 40 people on both sides of the road and an adult man lying on the ground, a flaming T-shirt placed on his chest.

Apart from that, he also saw a block of cement placed on the shoulders of the body, which was naked.

He further testified to the court that the other officers and he had taken a picture of the body and scene, while one of them had used a stick to remove the burnt t-shirt. body.

A closer examination of the body, he says, revealed multiple wounds and marks, with blood flowing from the nose and mouth.

The body, meanwhile, did not move.

Context

Major Mahama was killed in Denkyira Obuasi, central region, on May 29, 2017.

He was allegedly lynched during a morning walk to Denkyira Obuasi.

Fourteen people, including William Baah, a former member of the Denkyira Obuasi Assembly, are being tried for the death of the military officer.

They all pleaded not guilty to charges ranging from murder to murder to conspiracy to commit murder.