Murder of Man, 27 - Anyinamae Chief Appeals for Justice

By Castro Zangina-Tong

The chief and people of Anyinamae in the Krachi West District of the newly created Oti Region are calling on the government to assist in investigating the circumstances leading to the death of an indigene in the area.

Nana Nyasunpo Atormachon Anyinam III addressing a news conference in Accra yesterday, said that the deceased, Kwasi Yohannes, 27, was shot on October 30, 2018, during a communal violence between Anyinamae and people of Boafri, who they had lived with peacefully for decades without any misunderstandings and could not understand what triggered that unfortunate incident.

According to him, he had written letters on this said issue to the Volta Regional Minister, the District and Divisional Police Commanders, as well as the District Director of Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), but there had not been any responses from them.

He said that the people of Anyinamae were worried because the body of the deceased was still been kept in the morgue since October last year, and no arrest has ever been made.

"As a chief, I really understand and know the effects of conflicts that is why I have decided and also advised my youth not to retaliate.

"I am, therefore, appealing to the government to step in and investigate the murder of our youth so that the perpetrators could be brought to book to serve as a deterrent", he said.

Chronicling the events leading to the communal clashes which claimed one life, the Anyinamaehene told the media that a group of armed youngmen from Boafri, a neighbouring community at Krachi Nchumuru without any provocation, came to warn the farmers of Anyinamae on March 8, 2018, that they should no longer plant cassava on their yam farms the following year i.e. 2019.

"I quickly sent two of my elders to Boafri to demand the authenticity of the report I had from my farmers from the chief. Sadly, he answered in the affirmative- this was on March 9, 2018.

"On March 13, 2018, I reported the matter to the District Chief Executive who summoned leaders of both communities before the District Security Committee (DISEC) and said that a committee was going to be set up to investigate the matter.

"While waiting patiently for the committee to begin its work, report reached me that several pepper and yam farms belonging to my people have been destroyed", the chief told the media.

Nana Nyasunpo Anyinam said that all attempts to get this matter investigated at the District level had proved futile hence his call on the government to intervene as soon as possible for peace to reign.

A medical report signed by Dr Jasper Yayra Kutor of the Krachi West District Hospital gave the cause of the death as "Respiratory failure secondary to right haemothorax from gun shot wound".

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