The uncle of a young man, James Opoku , who was lynched in Antwima Yabi in the Ashanti Region for his alleged involvement in a same sex relationship, has called for the arrest of the people behind his death.
The uncle who mentioned his name as Frederick Opoku says he and other relations of the deceased are still in a state of shock at what happened to him on July 26, 2024. The uncle pointed out the family was yet to come to terms with the failure on the part of the police to arrest the suspects who lynched his nephew in a broad day light.
“We are deeply disappointed that not a single person has been arrested after this barbaric act. They took the laws into their hands and killed James with the explanation that he was involved in a same sex relationship with a certain man whose only name I got as Vincent, ” Mr Opoku remarked.
Continuing, Mr Opoku, who is a mechanic, stated that the deceased, a suspected gay was the son of his late sister who passed away in a lorry accident. “When my sister died in an accident, I brought him to live with my family here so I could help take care of him. The man we all believe is James’ father, denied being responsible for my sister’s pregnancy more than 30 years ago. My parents were disappointed when they found out that my late sister was pregnant during her youthful days. My parents had no option but to take care of her until she delivered James, “Mr Opoku narrated.
In an answer to a question on whether he knew that his nephew was involved in a same sex relationship, the 64-year-old mechanic said he had, on a number of occasions, heard what he termed as rumours from some people in the area that James was gay.
“The truth is I thrice questioned him after I heard rumours that he was in a relationship with another man. You know, after attaining the age of 26, he moved out of my house and rented a chamber and hall and has since been living alone until this unfortunate incident, which sadly caused his death. I invited him over to my place and questioned him on what I had heard. He flatly denied those rumours and told me not to believe anyone who makes that claim, ” Mr Opoku commented.
He further notes that all attempts to get more answers from the said Vincent, the alleged gay partner of the deceased, proved futile as he is said to have gone into hidding and is yet to be reached.
According to him, people should not be allowed to take the laws into their hands, adding that such situations could end the lives of others just like it did with his nephew. He admits that even though same sex is seriously frowned upon in Ghana, people should be punished when they are found to have committed such serious crime such as lynching.
He was quick to state that James was not caught having sex with a man and therefore did not understand why he was lynched by a mob . He challenged anyone with any evidence to make it available to his family that the deceased was indeed involved in the crime he was accused of.
The police have assured us that they are investigating the matter and they hope to make some arrest.
“It is sad that issues of such nature always go unresolved, and we all have some of form of idea why it is so” Mr Opoku told this portal.
Concluding, he appealed to Ghanaians to desist from taking the laws of the country into their hands why they subject suspects to lynching. Such inhuman acts should stop because society could be killing innocent people,” he concluded.
When this portal contacted the police for an update to the case, it explained that it was still investigating the matter and would make known to the family if any arrest is made.