The suspects
The callous murder of a Biochemistry consultant by two notorious fetish priests is unravelling in court.
The victim, Edward Quartey Papafio of Kasoa in the Central Region, was allegedly lured by the fetish priest, Christian Awoe Gamelie, aka Power-One, under the pretext of doubling money for him and ended up shooting him to death.
Court documents read by the prosecution led by Detective Inspector Lawrence Anani indicated that Power-One and another suspect, Famous Adukonu, aka Scorpion, admitted shooting Papafio with a pump-action gun on January 15, 2020 and buried the corpse at the shrine.
Remanded
Power-One, 40, and Scorpion, 37, as well as Yaw Azamate, 27, were yesterday remanded by a Kaneshie District Court presided over by Magistrate Rosemond Agyiri.
The three are facing charges of conspiracy and murder.
Their plea were, however, not taken as the case was still at the committal stages to determine if there is enough evidence for a proper trial at the High Court.
The prosecution had prayed the court to remand the accused persons in prison custody for ‘convenience sake’ and the court obliged.
Meanwhile, a bench warrant has been issued for the arrest of Michael Ahiavinye and one Buzanga who are believed to be connected with the crime.
Facts
The brief facts of the case presented in court indicated that the wife of the deceased, Reverend Mrs. Comfort Ruth Quartey Papafio, on January 17, 2020 reported that her husband had gone missing since January 15.
It said on receipt of the complaint, the police gathered intelligence that Papafio was last spotted at Power-One’s shrine located on the outskirts of Adu Kwadwo, near Adeiso in the Eastern Region, which led to the arrest of Power-One and Scorpion on April 21, this year.
According to prosecution, a search conducted at the shrine revealed two pump-action guns, one single-barrel gun, 11 packets of cartridges and seven other pieces of the cartridges from his room and two shovels were found hidden at the back of his house.
The prosecution said during interrogation, Power-One and Scorpion admitted shooting Papafio with the pump-action gun on January 15 and buried the corpse at their shrine.
He said on April 29, the two led the police to Power-One Herbal/Spiritual Centre where the police identified the deceased’s grave in a makeshift cemetery behind Power-One’s house, adding that the scene was secured and an exhumation order was obtained from the court for that purpose.
Prosecution said on April 30, a pathologist in the company of senior officers from the CID headquarters, personnel from the Crime Scene Management Team, Forensic Science Laboratory, Drone Operation and CID/ Headquarters Operational Team, together with the two accused persons, went to exhume the deceased’s body.
He said when the grave was dug, the decomposed body of Papafio was removed and it was discovered that his grave was among other graves in the cemetery, which was well fenced.
Prosecution said investigations disclosed that on December 29, Power-One, Scorpion and Azamete conspired to kill Papafio, hence lured him with the assistance of one Buzanga, also a traditional priest at Kasoa.
Prosecution said before the murder, the accused intentionally made false statements to the deceased and succeeded in collecting GH¢10,650 from him through mobile money under the pretext of conjuring GH¢400,000 for him to establish his company.
He said Papafio was invited to the shrine on January 15 for purification and in the process Scorpion shot him with Power-One’s gun.
The prosecution said the accused then drained Papafio’s blood into a plastic gallon and hid it at the shrine while Power-One took possession of the deceased mobile phones and later buried the deceased with the assistance of Azamate and Michael who is also on the run.
The case was adjourned to August 24, 2020.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak