The court said the decision was taken after the State Attorney, Sefakor Batse, announced in court today [Tuesday], that the trial will not continue.

The State Attorney, Sefakor Batse, who made the announcement, did give any reason for the decision to drop the charges against the two, Daniel Asiedu and Vincent Bosso.

What happened to JB Danquah?

The Abuakwa North legislator was on Tuesday, February 9, 2016, stabbed to death at his Shiashie residence in Accra.

Two days after his murder, the then Accra Regional Police Command, led by COP George A. Dampare, arrested a prime suspect, Daniel Asiedu, who allegedly confessed to committing the crime.

Vincent Bosso, was later arrested as having conspired with Aseidu to commit the crime.

Court proceedings

In the course of the trial, the prosecution tendered in a post-mortem report of the MP, Forensic DNA Report, Blood stained T-shirt of Asiedu, a knife used by Asiedu, the three iPhones of the deceased, Asiedu’s pair of slippers which he left at the crime scene, his prison records, and radiology report determining his age, his medical report, all as evidence to prosecute him.

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By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Initially, Tuesday, May 16, was fixed for the purpose but the prosecution prayed the court for adjournment, saying there was some new developments that needed to be addressed.

Ms Sefakor Batsa, a Senior State Attorney, prayed the court to adjourn the case for the prosecution to address some emerging issues.

Mr Muneeru Kasim, who held brief for Mr Augustine Obuor, the substantive attorney, said the defence was not opposed to the adjournment.

The Court, presided over by Mr Justice L.L. Mensah, a Court of Appeal Judge, sitting with additional responsibility, subsequently, adjourned the case.

On March 15, this year, the Accra Central District Court committed Daniel Asiedu, also known as,  ‘Sexy Dondon’, and Vincent Bosso, also known as ‘Junior Agogo,’ to stand trial at the High Court.

Asiedu has been charged with murder, conspiracy to rob and robbery.

His accomplice, Bosso, is being held on a charge of conspiracy to rob.

At the District Court, Asiedu, who has given seven different statements on different dates to the Police, denied killing the 51 year-old MP.

At the District Court, Asiedu gave different accounts on how he was arrested by the police.

Asiedu’s accomplice, Bosso, admitted that he and Asiedu decided to embark on a robbery spree on February 8, 2016.
He said they went to East Legon together. However, they parted ways over a disagreement on which house they were to rob.

According to Bosso, Asiedu took a cutter and knife from him and he (Bosso) boarded a car and left the vicinity.

Mrs Yvonne Attakorah Obuobisa, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), told the District Court, presided by Mr Stephen Owusu, that Asiedu resided at Agbogbloshie and Bosso was his friend.

J.B. Danquah, until his death, lived with his family in a one-storey building at Shiashie.

On February 8, 2016, at about 11:48pm the MP arrived home in his private car, driven by his driver, one Samuel Berkoe Sarkodie.

He retired to bed, but about 0100 hours, Asiedu who was allegedly armed with a catapult, a cutter and a sharp knife, entered the house of the legislator through the iron fence on the blind side of the security man, who was fast asleep.

The accused reportedly picked a ladder in the house and climbed to the porch of the top floor and entered the bedroom of the MP.

He allegedly slew the MP when he who woke up in the midst of the robbery.

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Source: GNA

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Mr Muneeru Kasim, who held brief for Mr Augustines Obuor, the substantive attorney, said they have just received a hearing notice and his instructions were that he should take a date for empanelling of the jury and his address.

[contextly_sidebar id=”JOPeLoOJNIylONc4gYVBlM2XN4nGESiE”]Ms Sefakor Batsa, a Senior State Attorney, said they were ready for the trial.

The Court presided over by Mr Justice L.L. Mensah, a Court of Appeal judge, sitting with additional responsibility, adjourned the matter to May 16 for the trial to commence.

Appearing for the first time before the High Court on April 28, it was noted that the state attorney assigned to the court had officially written to it indicating that state attorneys were undergoing a training programme as such could not be in court.

However, when the court asked the accused persons about their concerns, Asiedu told the court that he has not heard from his lawyer, Mr Augustine Obuor and could also not get access to him.

In the case of Vincent Bosso, he still stood by the assertion that he was innocent and was only picked up by the police.

The court told Bosso that he would be given the opportunity to speak when the time comes.

The court informed the accused persons to alert their lawyer of the new dimension in the matter so that they could appear in court.

It further asked the case investigator to assist the accused persons to get in touch with their relations.

On March 15, this year, the Accra Central District Court committed Daniel Asiedu aka sexy Dondon and Vincent Bosso aka Junior Agogo to stand trial at the High Court.

This was after they were served with the bill of indictment and summary of evidence.

Asiedu has been charged with murder, conspiracy to rob and robbery. His accomplice, Bosso, is being held on a charge of conspiracy to rob.

At the District Court, Asiedu, who has given seven different statements on different dates to Police, denied killing the late MP.

At the District Court Asiedu gave different account on how he was picked up by the Police at Agbogboloshie.

He admitted that he deals in the sale of mobile phones at Agbogboloshie and he sometimes engaged in swapping of mobile phones at Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

According to the court based on the inconsistencies in the statement of Aseidu, it was committing him to stand trial.

Asiedu’s accomplice, Bosso, who intermittently wiped off his tears, admitted that he and Asiedu decided to embark on a robbery spree on February 8, 2016.

He said they all travelled to East Legon, however, they parted ways over a disagreement over which house they were to rob.

According to Bosso, Asiedu took from him some weapons such as the cutter and knife from him and he (Bosso) boarded a car and left the vicinity.

Mrs Yvonne Attakorah Obuobisa, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), told the District Court presided over by Mr Stephen Owusu that Asiedu resides at Agbogboloshie and Bosso is his friend.

She said the deceased Joseph Boakye Danqauh Adu was the MP for Abuakwa North Constituency in the Eastern Region.

Mrs Obuobisa said Asiedu had held discussions with Bosso on undertaking some robbery acts and on February 8, last year, at about 2330 hrs, Aseidu and Bosso armed themselves with various implements such as a screw driver, a cutter, and knife and left Agbogboloshie to East Legon to actualise their plan.

The accused persons, she said, walked around to see which house they were going to rob and eventually selected the house of the deceased as a targeted option.

Mrs Obuobisa said Bosso did not agree with the selection and this resulted in a misunderstanding between the two.

The misunderstanding was so sharp that Asiedu asked him (Bosso) to hand over all the tools and they parted ways.

Mrs Obuobisa said Asiedu entered the house of the deceased and noticed that there was light in the MP’s bedroom upstairs and more so, he could not enter the room through the window easily.

She said Asiedu looked round for a ladder and with the aid of it he climbed onto the porch and entered through the window.

Meanwhile, around that time 2340 hrs, the deceased went to bed and Asiedu on seeing lights off in the deceased’s room, entered and began to search the room. In the process, the MP woke up and attempted to stop Asiedu.

Mrs Obuobisa said Asiedu, who had a knife stabbed the deceased several times in the neck and chest. The MP bled and collapsed.

Mrs Obuobisa explained that while Asiedu was stabbing the MP, he (Asiedu) also sustained various cuts in his palm and chest.

Asiedu found in the room three mobile phones and he escaped through the adjourning house and fled the area.

The DPP said a security man in the deceased house later found that the ladder was on the wall to the deceased room. The security man raised an alarm and he and other occupants in the house entered the MP’s room and saw the deceased in a pool of blood.

Mrs Obuobisa said autopsy report indicated that the MP died of excessive bleeding. When Asiedu returned to Agbogbloshie, he requested for some warm water to dress his wounds and took the deceased phones for unlocking.

Whiles unlocking, the DPP, said a witness saw blood stains and he got alarmed.

The witness waited until he heard the news about the death of the MP and saw that the pictures on the deceased phone matched those that had been displayed in the media.

The DPP said blood samples were taken at the crime scene and finger prints lifted at the crime scene were identical to Asiedu, DNA analysis conducted also marched with Asiedu and the deceased.

In the case of Bosso, he allegedly conspired with Aseidu to embark on the act.

Prosecution has tendered a post mortem report of the MP, Forensic DNA Report, Blood stained T-shirt of Asiedu, a knife used by Asiedu, the three Iphones of the deceased.

Asiedu’s pair of slippers which he left at the crime scene, his prison records, and radiology report determining his age, his medical report has also been tendered.

The court has remanded the accused persons into prison custody.

–

Source: GNA

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He said people agitating over the consistent reference to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah as the founder of independent Ghana are only being selective with history.

[contextly_sidebar id=”e83lt9UlbUCCj3YO87JXWFtBF9nZR69K”]Prof. Delle’s comment comes against an earlier assertion by the Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye that holding Dr. Kwame Nkrumah as the founder of independent Ghana was wrong.

Speaking at the Institute of Economic Affairs’ (IEA) showing of a documentary of the political history of Ghana between 1844 and the Fourth Republican Constitution, Prof. Oquaye described as “palpable falsehood” claims at Nkrumah was the founding father of Ghana saying that the country must recognize other persons involved in the independence struggle and not hail only Nkrumah.

The comment revives the long-standing debate about the actual founder of  Ghana especially after the president, Nana Akufo-Addo subtly also suggested so in the address he delivered at Ghana’s 60th independence anniversary parade.

But according to the CPP chairman, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah led the charge for Ghana’s independence, and must not be denied the associated recognition.

He told Citi News, “anything you can say against Nkrumah, you say it, but as long as Ghana lives and Africa lives, he will be greater and greater still.”

“We are not denying that being human, he had some faults but you have to see the situation that made him do these acts… I don’t deny that people contributed, so I am personally not against the fact of recognizing people who contributed. There is no doubt about that; J.B Danquah and the rest. They all contributed to it, but no matter how many contributed, you identify one person.”

He noted that his party will study the claims by persons attempting to rewrite the country’s history “and we will come out with our version on the matter.”

“It is their opinion, they want founders we have decided on founder; the greatest African that has ever lived.”

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

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Some Ghanaians have berated the President’s Independence Day address, claiming it undermined the efforts of Ghana’s first President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in the struggle for independence.

But the Information Minister on the Citi Breakfast Show said there’s no deliberate attempt to change the history of the country and that indeed, J.B Danquah and Edward Akufo-Addo played various important roles in the fight for freedom.

“It is the history as it is. People didn’t even know that there were women who fought for our independence. Even for me, that was the first time I heard about the [Akua] Shorshorshor woman, beautiful name like that who sacrificed her every penny. Every nation has what it calls founding fathers. If you go to America, they talk about John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson among others as the founding fathers of America, even though at the same time Washington had a pride of place in American history.”

He argued that “certainly, it cannot be the case that only one person founded this Ghanaian nation,” hence it was important that contributions of other persons are acknowledged.

“It is important that we acknowledge the contributions of people who started the struggle even in the 1800s all the way till 1946, 1947 before even JB Danquah and Nkrumah and the rest came on board. So the president is simply trying to say that a nation that does not honour its heroes is not worth dying for, and we should go back and start acknowledging all the heroes and heroines who helped to establish the Ghanaian nation. It is something that we ought to do if we have to excite the patriotism of our people so that tomorrow we are assured that if we were to do something heroic for this nation and go away, this nation will remember us. That is the motivation that will get you to do the extra that you have to do to get this country working again,” he added.

Mustapha Hamid also hinted that, the Ministry of Education will soon roll out a revised curriculum which will instill a sense of pride in young Ghanaians.

“This thing may look like it is intangible, but it is important for us instill this in our young people that this land is a rich land. We are capable and able to live here as young people and to make the best of lives for ourselves. It’s like the so called American dream. It simply means excelling and being independent and creating wealth and prosperity for yourself.”

“And therefore when I wake up every day and say I am Ghanaian, it should go beyond mere citizenship, which is what the president has been saying. Merely holding a passport shouldn’t be what should make you a Ghanaian. What should make you a Ghanaian is self-belief. Self-belief that this land is where you can make the best of your talents, that this land is a land that creates an opportunity for people to be able to exercise their talents and to excel,” he added.

Nkrumah was the best African leader – Mugabe

Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe, who was in Ghana for the country’s 60th anniversary, has described Ghana’s first President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, as a true revolutionist who fought for the emancipation of Ghana and Africa.

The 93-year old President made the remark while addressing the media at Ghana’s seat of government, the Flagstaff House on Tuesday.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Akufo-Addo didn’t skew Ghana’s history – Mustapha Hamid appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the party, the late Member of Parliament, would have played a pivotal role in the Nana Addo-led administration.

[contextly_sidebar id=”hCo3g9xJ3YxSHUz5eGhH2tDrEVezI3kC”]The Abuakwa North legislator was on Tuesday, February 9, 2016 stabbed to death at his Shiashie residence in Accra.

Two days after his murder, the Accra Regional Police Command, led by COP Dr George A. Dampare, led an operation to arrest a suspect who allegedly confessed to committing the crime.

Speaking to Citi News at a ceremony to mark the 1^st anniversary of the death of the late Member of Parliament, a former Minister of Information in the erstwhile Kufour administration, Stephen Asamoah Boateng said the NPP is ready to assist the police to speed up the investigation.

“He would have been one of the key members of this government. We have to maybe push the knobs from the angle of the investigation to move it faster. We will match them ahead quickly and If there is something they need from government to aid their work, resource-wise, we would get the government to work on it so the police to come up with some conclusion.”

Meanwhile, wife of the Late J.B Danquah Adu, Ivy Danquah-Adu said they have been denied justice with the delay in closing investigations.

A prime suspect in the murder of a former Abuakwa North legislator, Daniel Asiedu is currently facing trial before an Accra Magistrate court.

The case has been ongoing for over 9 months.

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By: Philip Nii Lartey & Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We’ll ensure justice for JB Danquah-Adu’s family – NPP appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.