Nicholas Kwame Kini and Felix Nyarko
Felix Nyarko and Nicholas Kwame Kini, the two teenagers who allegedly killed an 11-year-old boy at Kasoa in the Central Region during last year’s Easter Holidays, yesterday made their maiden appearance before an Accra High Court where they would be standing trial for murder.
The two were committed by a Kaneshie Magistrate Court in August of last year after it found that there was enough evidence for them to stand trial for the alleged murder of Ishmael Mensah Abdallah.
The High Court however, could not commence with the trial yesterday as the accused persons were not represented by any lawyer when they entered the dock.
The prosecution led by Dorcas Sellie, a State Attorney, told the court that the accused persons were represented by a lawyer during the committal proceedings but she could not tell if the same lawyer would be representing them at the High Court.
She said since the current process is a trial on indictment, the case cannot proceed without the presence of counsel for the accused persons.
She, therefore, prayed the court to adjourn the matter to enable the accused persons communicate the next court date to their counsel.
The court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo urged the accused persons to communicate the next date to their lawyer and adjourned the case to February 2, 2022.
Gruesome Action
Felix Nyarko during his committal comment narrated how they lured the 11-year-old boy into an uncompleted building where they subsequently ‘murdered’ him.
He had told the Magistrate Court during the committal that upon reaching the uncompleted building, Kini was already waiting for them and he assisted the victim to climb into the room.
“When we got there, Nicholas Kini told Ishmael (victim) that the game was in the sack over there so he bent down to pick the game from the sack. Nicholas then used a club to hit the back of his head and he fell to the floor, unable to speak. We dragged him closer to us and Nicholas hit him again with the club.”
Nyarko told the court that his sister heard a noise and walked towards the uncompleted building but “I told her it was nothing so she should go back.”
He said he then picked a block and just when he was about to hit the victim “he (victim) asked me ‘you that you are my good friend, why are you doing this to me. What have I done to you?’”
Nonetheless, the accused person said he hit Ishmael Abdallah with the block but said he was still breathing.
Buried Alive
Nyarko said he then brought two shovels and they dug a shallow hole and dropped Ishmael Abdallah inside.
He said realising that the victim was still breathing, they put more sand on to him while he was still alive.
He said he picked another block but heard his mother calling him so he dropped it and went out of the uncompleted building, leaving Nicholas behind.
He told the court how he later went to carry water for his mother and upon his return his parent asked him how he could have done what he did.
The accused told the court events that led to the discovery of the body and how angry residents of the area subjected them to severe beatings following the incident.
Exhibits
The prosecution then presented the court with exhibits which included one shovel, one spade, a club, pieces of cement blocks, pictures of sand mixed with blood, investigation caution statements of accused persons, pictures of the deceased, and photographs of the crime scene which they intend to rely on for the main trial.
Ascertaining Ages
Police investigators, upon advice from Attorney General, were able to ascertain the actual ages of the suspects after they went to the schools of the suspects and got the ages their parents entered for them on admission.
Felix Nyarko, aka Yaw Anane, per the school’s records was born on September 1, 2005, while the date of birth of his co-accused Nicholas Kwame Kini, was recorded as August 2, 2002. The September 2005 date makes Nyarko 16 years as at last year and still a juvenile under the law.
However, in the case of Kini, he has been found to be 19 years per the records in his school, and is fit to stand trial in adults’ court.
Intriguing Details
The gruesome murder of 11-year-old Ishmael Mensah Abdallah stunned the nation when graphic pictures of the deceased in the midst of an angry crowd being prevented by the police from lynching the teenagers went viral on social media and on mainstream television.
TV Programmes
Nyarko is said to have been enthralled by television commercials about spiritualists who could make people instant billionaires.
He narrated the story to his friend Kini, who recommended a spiritualist who could be valuable in that regard.
Not having a mobile phone himself, Kini provided the contact number of the spiritualist and Nyarko went ahead to use his mother’s phone to contact the spiritualist.
Spiritualist’s Demands
The spiritualist allegedly demanded a human being and an amount of GH¢5,000 for the spiritual procedure to make them instant billionaires.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak