Nana Afariwa Nyarkoh addressing the gathering
The Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese (AAK) District Security Committee (DISEC) has cleared Nana Afariwa Nyarkoh III, queen mother of the area, of taking part in the gruesome murder of the chief linguist of the town, Okyeame Kojo Mensah and his wife.
Nana Afariwa was summoned last month by DISEC to appear before it in relation to the murder of the couple after receiving a petition from a committee set up by the chief of the town to investigate the matter.
In its findings, the seven-member committee had accused the queen mother of masterminding the violent crime and further petitioned DISEC to look into the matter.
Okyeame Kojo Mensah, 48 and Ohemaa Efuah, 42, who was also the queen mother of Ajumako Etumbir, were slaughtered by some unknown assailants in their room on the night of Sunday, September 2, 2018.
The family woke up the next morning to find the throats of their kinsmen slashed with a sharp object believed to be a knife which was lying in a pool of blood in their room. The assailants did not take anything from the room after the attack and left.
DISEC, chaired by the District Chief Executive (DCE) of the area, Madam Felicia Aba Hagan, therefore invited Obaahemaa Afariwa Nyarkoh III for questioning.
In her first appearance before the committee, Obaahemaa Afariwa Nyarko, who was installed two months prior to the murder in September, denied the allegation levelled against her and vowed to seek redress in court to redeem her tarnished image.
After its findings, DISEC found nothing incriminating against the accused queen mother and therefore cleared her of the offence.
Addressing the chief and people of the area last Wednesday during a public forum organised in the town, Obaahemaa Afariwa Nyarkoh reiterated her commitment to serve the people of Abura Dunkwa.
According to her, the rumours in town alleging that she masterminded the attack on the chief linguist and his wife were false. She, therefore, challenged any person with evidence to contact the regional police command or any other police station.
“During my meeting with the regional command, I was told that the perpetrator of the act had been arrested and was undergoing trial, yet people are still accusing me of a crime I have not committed,” she stressed.
She added: “I have been to the regional command to give out my statement and if my accusers still feel that I have a hand in the murder, they can face me personally and tell me in the face.”
She begged the town folks to stop accusing her of an offence she has not committed. Rather, she urged them to help develop Dunkwa.
The DCE of AAK, Madam Aba Hagan, briefed the gathering on the outcome of DISEC’s investigations into the murder case.
She said upon receiving the petition from the Beesuon Committee, DISEC investigated the matter and could not link Nana Afariwa Nyarkoh III to the case.
She confirmed that “one person by name Ali Baaba Munsuro has been arrested as the prime suspect in the case by the police and has since been remanded in prison custody by the Cape Coast High Court while investigations into the matter continue.”
She therefore called for calm and asked for the continuous prayers and intervention of residents to unravel the mystery surrounding the gruesome murder.
(lindatenyah@gmail.com)
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey