Capt Mahama’s gruesome murder stuns Ghana

The nation was stunned by the gruesome murder of Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama when video clips of the barbaric act went viral yesterday. Captain Mahama, who was heading a military detachment near Denkyira Obuasi in the Central Region, met his untimely death last Monday when some residents of the area accused him of being an armed robber and lynched him.

The officer was on operational duties at the Alaska C&G Mining Company at Amenase Forest, near Diaso in the Central Region. He was said to be jogging when some residents accused him of being part of a robbery gang that stormed Denkyira-Obuasi the previous day.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in his response to the wave of sadness that had engulfed the nation, promised swift action into the matter.

He said persons involved in Captain Mahama’s heinous murder would be arrested and prosecuted, in accordance with the laws of the country.

“No one involved in his murder will go free,” the President tweeted yesterday in a consolatory message to Captain Mahama’s family.

“I assure them that the perpetrators of this heinous crime will be arrested and dealt with, in accordance with the laws of our country," he vowed.

He also extended his sympathies to Captain Mahama’s family, saying: "My condolences to the family of Captain Mahama on their tragic loss."

Former President Mahama

In a related development, former President John Dramani Mahama has also expressed shock at the gruesome murder of the military officer who had led troops to provide security at Denkyira Obuasi.

He expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased, who are heartbroken over the unfortunate development.

The former President, in a Twitter comment, commiserated with the wife and children of the deceased.

He tweeted: “My heart goes out to my brother, Capt. Chubby Adam Mahama (retd), on the murder of his son, Capt. Maxwell Mahama. #RestinPeaceMaxwell.

“And my condolences to the wife of Capt. Mahama, his young children and to his mother on the loss of her only son,” he said.

Former President Rawlings

For his part, former President Jerry John Rawlings has called for calm and restraint as the security agencies investigated the unfortunate lynching of a serving military officer at Denkyira-Obuasi.

In a statement issued yesterday, the former President expressed his sincere condolences to the wife, family and the unit of the late Captain Mahama for their unfortunate loss.

“Your loss is a loss to the whole country. Your husband, son and brother lost his life serving his country.”

“Taking the law into our hands in the manner the perpetrators of the act did was an act of cruelty. However, I implore the affected institution to remain calm as the security agencies investigate the matter,” he said..

The former President added his voice to calls by many concerned Ghanaians over the lack of speedy investigations and prosecution of persons who perpetrated serious crimes such as armed robbery and murder.

“When the law does not seem to be giving people justice, such acts of cruelty resulting in the unfortunate loss of innocent life is the end result.

“I call on the security agencies and the law courts to inspire confidence in the populace by acting swiftly and effectively when crimes are committed in our communities.

“The recent acts of violence in Somanya and Kumasi cannot be taken in isolation. They go to expose a weakness in the general response to crime,” former President Rawlings said.

Beginning

According to the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Central Regional Police Command, Mrs Irene Oppong, it all began when the Assembly Member for Denkyira-Obuasi, William Baah, reported at the police station at 10 a.m. last Monday that about 9:30 a.m. that day, he (Baah) had received a distress call from one of the foodstuff sellers along the Denkyira-Obuasi highway that she had seen a man with a pistol strapped at his back and suspected him to be an armed robber.

According to the PRO, two friends of the assembly member accompanied him to the highway where he met Capt. Mahama on the outskirts of the town.

According to the complaint lodged by Baah, when the assembly member and his friends approached Capt. Mahama, he drew a pistol at them, but Baah managed to escape, leaving the two friends behind.

Mrs Oppong said the police quickly proceeded to the scene, only to find the ‘suspect’ lynched by an unknown mob, with multiple deep wounds on the head, while parts of the body were partially burnt.

The Central Regional Police Spokesperson said at 7 p.m. that same day, WO II Lawrence Achiayao reported that the deceased was not an armed robber but a captain in the Ghana Army and commander in charge of the “Come Life” troops currently on support duties at the Alaska C&G Mining Company at the Amenase Forest, near Diaso.

Meanwhile, the Denkyira Development Association has condemned the barbaric murder by the community members and called on the police to swiftly investigate the incident to bring the perpetrators of the crime to book.

The association further called for calm and appealed to the public and particularly the media to be circumspect in their reportage in order not to heighten tension further.

District chief executive

Meanwhile, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Upper Denkyira West, Mr Daniel Appianin, has alleged that although the military has been deployed to investigate the issue, they are rather brutalising the residents.

He claimed that most of the men in Denkyira-Obuasi were being brutalised, while women and children had been camped in a church for safety.

The military has so far arrested a number of people suspected to have taken part in the gruesome murder of the military commander, while a thorough search is being conducted to retrieve the pistol stolen from the officer.

An uncle of the murdered military officer, Mr McBagonlure, who said the sad news reached the family around 11 p.m. last Monday, maintained that his nephew was commanding a team on an official duty at the Amenase Forest to fight the menace of galamsey and that he was not an armed robber.

He observed that the perpetrators of the crime saw Captain Mahama and his group as a threat to their flourishing business and allegedly conspired to eliminate him.

He, therefore, called for thorough investigations into the gruesome murder to bring the culprits to book.

Captain Mahama was posted to the district three weeks ago to relieve the commander of the team detailed to the area to protect a local mine.

He recently sat for a promotion examination and was awaiting the results for promotion to the rank of major.

As of the time of going to press, five suspects who had been screened after a joint military/police swoop in the area had been sent to the Central Regional Police Headquarters in Cape Coast for further action.

Some cases of lynching

April 2007

Thirty-three people were arrested for allegedly lynching Mr Anthony Yeboah Boateng, the Administrator of the Goaso Government Hospital, at Atronie, near Sunyani, on Easter Sunday, April 10, 2007, as he, his wife and a Roman Catholic Sister were conveying the corpse of a relative from Sunyani to Goaso.

February 16, 2010

Five men, including the chief of Suponso in the Birim Central municipality in the Eastern Region, were arrested by the Oda Police in connection with the lynching of a 21-year-old student, Saviour Azigi.

April 28, 2013

A young man in his late 20s believed to be a student of a tertiary institution was lynched by a group of men for allegedly stealing a mobile phone.
The incident took place behind the Dell Hospital at Mempeasem at East Legon. The police reportedly arrived on the scene of the incident late and could not save the young man.

February 7, 2015

The intervention of policemen at the St Paul’s Boys’ High School at Denu in the Volta Region saved two students who were suspected to be gay from being lynched by their angry homophobic mates.

April 6, 2016

A 25-year-old head porter at Adumadze, a suburb of Mankessim, was, in the early hours of Tuesday, April 5, 2016, lynched by some unknown persons for allegedly stealing a goat.
The deceased, identified only as Yaw, was found dead on the compound of the Adumadze MA Basic School about 7 a.m., with broken blocks, stones and other objects which were apparently used in lynching him, scattered around the body.