The suspects
One of the suspects in the murder of an 11-year-old boy in Kasoa has requested a fingerprint test to be conducted on the exhibits that were picked from the uncompleted building where the victim was killed.
Nicholas Kini, who had previously denied knowing or having anything to do with the death of Ishmael Mensah Abdallah, yesterday told a High Court in Accra that he also knew nothing about the tools that were used in the murder or burial of the deceased.
“I know nothing about the exhibits brought from the crime scene. Those working tools were there before we got there. And I’m pleading with the court that a fingerprint test be conducted on those exhibits to confirm whether I held any of them,” he said while continuing his evidence-in-chief.
Kini and a minor are before the court on two counts of conspiracy to commit murder and a substantive charge of murder.
While he pleaded not guilty to both charges, his co-accused who is believed to be the prime suspect and had ‘confessed’ to the crime during the committal proceedings, pleaded not guilty to murder, but pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder. The court entered a plea of not guilty for him.
The accused, in his defense, told the court yesterday that prior to being taken to the police station, he and his co-accused were mercilessly beaten by the ‘area boys’ after the incident happened, and the beating continued in a room where they were kept until the police arrived.
“Whiles in the police vehicle, the elder son of Hajia by name Abas brought the deceased’s body into the car. Myself and first accused sat by the body. When the body was brought into the car, I got angry and started saying to the dead body that if I really know something about his death then he should get up and kill me,” Kini said.
He also denied a previous ‘confession’ by the minor that they had previously committed a similar crime, except this time it was a pregnant woman they killed and buried.
“When the matter was also taken to Kaneshie Court ‘1’, the first accused stated to the court that we had killed a pregnant woman and that he can show the court where she was buried. I’m stating again that I know nothing about all that the first accused person said,” he added.
While under cross-examination from a Senior State Attorney, Nana Ama Adoma, Kini told the court that he is not good friends with the first accused but only happens to live in the same area as him.
The prosecutor, however, pointed to the accused person’s own caution statement to the police in which he indicated that, “I know (name omitted) my accomplice very well and we have been friends since 2008 till date.”
That notwithstanding, the accused denied it by saying, “That is not true because in 2008 I was a kid and I was with my grandfather who had rented at Adam Nana, and so I didn’t know first accused.”
“As a matter of fact, prior to this case, both of you used to play together, roam around town together and do all sorts of things that good friends would do,” the prosecutor pushed, but the accused said, “I know nothing about that.”
Even when Madam Adoma put it to the accused that the police would not have known all this if he had not told them same when he was arrested, the accused said he believed the police added those to his statement.
Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, the trial judge, adjourned the case to February 12, for further cross-examination.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak