By Joyce Danso
Accra, June11, GNA – A Kaneshie District Court has struck out a case in which seven persons have been charged for their alleged involvement in the murder of a labourer, Robert Eshun, aka Kojo Pete in Takoradi.
The court cited jurisdictional issues and discharged three out of the seven accused persons arraigned.
Those discharged are Benjamin Appiah, aka Kofi Bakado, Joseph Arthur, aka Opanyin Yena, and Christian Acquah.
Four others, who are said to be at large are Anthony Cudjoe, aka Kuffour, Ekow Shadow, Benjamin Aggrey and Evans Naku.
The seven accused persons have been jointly charged with conspiracy to commit crime to wit murder.
Two out of the seven accused persons have been charged with murder.
They are Benjamin Kofi Appiah, a Mason, and Jospeh Arthur, aka Opanyin Yena, a fisherman.
Soon after the court discharged the accused persons, the Police re-arrested them at the court premises.
The case of the prosecution is that the deceased Robert Eshun, aka Kojo Pete, was a labourer at a block factory at Takoradi and lived at Butumagyebu, a suburb in Sekondi.
On July 7, 2023, while the deceased was passing by the block factory of suspect Joseph Arthur, he was apprehended by suspect Ekow Shadow ( now at large) who was wielding a cutlass on suspicion that he was a thief.
The prosecution said Ekow Shadow with the assistance of Benjamin Appiah stopped the deceased while Ekow Shadow made phone calls to Aggrey and Naku, all at large to come to the scene.
Aggrey and Naku rushed to the scene with a club and a long hard leather whip respectively and subjected the deceased to severe beatings.
The prosecution said Appiah made a phone call to Joseph Arthur through someone and informed him about the arrest of the deceased.
Joseph Arthur rushed to the scene barefooted with canes and joined Appiah, Shadow, Naku and Aggrey in beating the deceased allegedly.
The prosecution said Evans Naku allegedly used a cutlass he took from suspect Ekow Shadow to strip the deceased naked for others to lash him at the back with various objects they were holding.
According to the prosecution, Christian Acquah and Anthony Cudjoe (at large) Iater joined the five and they continued beating the deceased.
The accused persons placed the deceased in supine position and Joseph Arthur stepped on his chest several times allegedly.
The deceased was later dragged to a roadside where Shadow, Appiah, Aggrey and Evans Naku held him, and Joseph Arthur allegedly used cutlass to shave part of the hairs on the deceased’s head.
The deceased became unconscious, and they dragged him back and left him in front of the factory after which they all ran away from the scene, the court heard.
The prosecution said the deceased’s body was conveyed to Efia Nkwanta Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
It said through intelligence, Benjamin Appiah was arrested at Bakado after he went into hiding following the act.
Athur and Christian Acquah were also arrested.
The prosecution said investigation was still underway.
GNA