Body of victim Akwasi Oheme
Five people, including the chief of Ejisu-Besease, Nana Akwasi Acheampong II, have been arrested for allegedly killing a 44-year-old man, who is said to be a member of the royal family.
Akwasi Oheme, a block manufacturer in the farming community, sustained head injuries after an unprovoked attack on him at the chief’s palace at Besease on Sunday afternoon.
He was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital.
Police arrested Nana Akwasi Acheampong II along with four other men, including the unit committee chairman of the community, and one Sarpong on Monday on suspicion of beating the man to death.
The chief, a family uncle of the victim, had summoned Wofa Akwasi Oheme to his palace to answer questions on why he cut a tree into piece with the intention to sell without recourse to him.
Yaa Boamah, an elder sister of the victim, said the family had been “shocked” by Mr Oheme’s death, and was liaising with Ejisu Police to bring the culprits to book.
She narrated that there had been long-standing dispute between her brother and the chief over a piece of land at Besease.
According to the victim’s sister, Nana Acheampong, with support from the paramount chief of Ejisu, about three and half years ago pulled down a building under construction that belonged to their family gate.
Madam Yaa Boamah disclosed that this infuriated the family, and the victim, who were not enthused with the abusive words hurled at the chief, adding that Nana Acheampong caused the arrest of her brother for three days.
The matter was forwarded to Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, who referred it to the Sumankwahene for amicable settlement, she recounted.
She added that the Ejisumanhene was asked to compensate the family for the loss of property, which he agreed.
She said her brother also began a construction of a residential accommodation on a plot of land close to the cemetery this year.
While the victim was on site working on his building last Saturday, an old tree at the graveyard fell and landed on the tomb of someone, which compelled Wofa Oheme to rush to the scene.
He decided to cut the tree and sell the logs for a fee, but Nana Akwasi Acheampong II aka Kwaku Akwamoah, who got wind of it, rushed to the site and allegedly directed the victim to leave the logs for him or be punished.
Yaa Boamah stated that her brother demanded refund of cost incurred in cutting the tree into pieces if the chief wished to take the logs.
According to her, this did not go down well with Nana Acheampong who ordered his boys to beat Akwasi Oheme.
“He summoned him the next day (Sunday) to his palace to come and answer why he cut the tree without any recourse to the chief, and he was beaten in the process,” the victim’s sister narrated further.
She told the press her brother was clubbed to death by the chief and his cohorts who had gathered at the palace.
“Before this incident, we had heard rumours that the Besease chief, who is our family uncle, had planned to eliminate my brother or get him imprisoned on trump-up charges as he was becoming a stumbling block to his sale of lands at Besease,” she indicated.
Yesterday (Sunday), I had a call that my brother was dead. I got to the scene and found him lying down prostrate with blood coming from his nose.”
From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi