The Abeka Magistrate Court in Accra has issued a stern warning to the relatives and friends of Benjamin Okyere, a budding musician who was allegedly murdered by his landlord, Victor Stephen Nana Kankam.
According to the court presided over by Achamaa Ofosu, the court would not tolerate any disturbances from the relatives that usually disrupt court proceedings.
She said the next time they did anything untoward, they would be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.
The magistrate gave the warning after relatives and friends of the deceased were drumming and chanting on the premises of the court yesterday when the case was called and it was not the first time they were disturbing public peace under the guise of seeking justice for the deceased.
On June 8, 2020, tensions were high on the court premises when the family and friends of the deceased besieged the place where his alleged assailant is facing committal proceedings.
The ‘loved ones’ of the deceased stormed the premises of the court at the crack of dawn to demand justice for him.
The relatives and friends, most of whom wore red and black attire, have gone berserk as regards the gruesome manner in which the deceased was murdered.
Okyere was shot four times — once in the rib, chest, shoulder and the thigh — by his landlord and as usual the relatives were at the court yesterday singing and chanting to demand justice for him.
The situation which disrupted court sitting compelled the magistrate to issue out the warning, saying the issue was a criminal matter, and there were laid-down procedures which must be followed.
She said although the accused person had been accused of committing the crime, the procedures in criminal trials ought to be followed.
She told the relatives of the deceased that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the accused person had been remanded in prison custody and would not be brought to court henceforth.
Meanwhile, the autopsy report on the deceased is said to be ready.
Besides, the prosecutor, Inspector Stephen Ahiale, has informed the court that a duplicate docket on the accused is being forwarded to the Attorney General’s Department for advice.
The case was adjourned to July 6, 2020.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak