Driver confesses killing 2 expats; Five others charged
One of the six persons undergoing committal proceedings at the Accra Magistrates’ Court in connection with the murder of two African American women at Akwamufie in the Eastern Region Thursday told the court that he had single-handedly murdered the two victims.
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Anokye Yaw Frimpong, a driver, openly confessed in court that he had committed the crime without the knowledge of the other five accused persons.
The accused was bold and bent on giving more details about the alleged crime he committed, but the court told him to hold on until the police had completed their investigations into the murder.
Frimpong, who has been charged with murder, is in the dock with Nana Obiri Yeboah, a farmer; Nana Appia-Nti III, the Chief of Appiakrom; Brenda Kareema Mohammed, a pensioner; Yazid Alazim Mohammed, a businessman, and Mensah Kamaugogo, a surgeon assistant.
The five persons have all been charged with conspiracy to commit crime.
Their pleas have not been taken.
Background
According to the prosecution, the deceased persons, Mamelina Diop, 75, and Nzinga Jaana, 69, were pensioners from the American Civil Service but resided at Fihankra, near Akwamufie in the Eastern Region.
It said Nana Appia-Nti lived at Atimpoku, while the other accused persons lived at Fihankra.
In 1997, some African Americans in the Diaspora decided to make Ghana their home and they acquired 218.5 acres of land at Appiakrom, to create a community which is now called Fihankra.
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Agreement
In the agreement governing the purchase of the land, the group promised to build schools, a hospital and a stadium, provide potable water and bring other amenities to the community, the prosecution said.
It said the leader of the group, Oluwale Kwadwo Akpan, who had made himself a traditional ruler of the area, started issuing indentures and collected annual rent for the land allocated to the residents of Fihankra.
After his death in May 2009, his wife, Majewa Adoujokroke Akpan; his son, Goloi Osakwe Dwemena Akpan, and the two murdered African American women took over the management of the fund.
Revolt
However, Kareema Mohammed, Alazim Mohammed and Muata revolted against that arrangement and accused the Akpan Family and the two African American women of fraud and mismanagement.
That, according to the prosecution, resulted in the creation of a website where the Akpan Family and the African Americans were maligned to the Diasporan community.
“It [the accusation of fraud and mismanagement] also led to personal confrontation which severed the cordial relationship between them [the two African Americans] and their lives were threatened by the accused persons.
“In 2003, the Appia-Nti Family filed a civil suit against the Fihankra community at the Koforidua High Court over the acquisition of the land for not fulfilling the agreement,” the prosecution said.
According to the prosecution, Brenda, Yazid, Mensah and others yet to the arrested threw their support behind the Appia-Nti Family.
“Later, Brenda, Yazid and Mensah had a series of meetings with Nana Appia-Nti and his elders to find a way of evicting the Akpan Family from the community.
“Both parties later agreed and withdrew the case for settlement at home. In April 2015, Brenda, Yazid and Mensah and others now at large met Nana Appia-Nti and his elders and reminded them of the earlier arrangements,” it said.
It said Brenda, Yazid and Mensah, who promised to enter into better negotiations with them, also promised the chief a storey building in the community belonging to the Akpan Family to be used as his palace when they were evicted.
“During the disagreement, Brenda, Yazid and Mensah conspired with Frimpong, the chief of Appiakrom, and one Nana Frimpong, who is on the run, to move to the community solely reserved for the Diasporans in order to monitor the activities of the Akpan Family and the African Americans.
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“Brenda, Yazid and Mensah then rented a vacant apartment for Frimpong, Yeboah and Nana Frimpong for that purpose and they moved into it nine months ago,” the prosecution said.
Murder
On May 5, this year, Mamelina and Jaana were reported missing and a report was made to the Akosombo Police.
A search, however, led to the discovery of a freshly dug grave and on May 6, 2015, and an order was obtained from the Akosombo District Court and the spot was dug under the supervision of a medical officer.
“The bodies of the deceased persons, which were found buried in a shallow grave, were removed and deposited at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital morgue, pending autopsy,” the prosecution said.
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Investigations led to the arrest of the accused persons.