Nicholas Kini (left) and Felix Nyarko
The fetish priestess, whose television advertisement allegedly ‘influenced’ two Kasoa teenagers in the Central Region to take the life of an 11-year-old boy last week, has admitted that the suspects contacted their shrine to undergo money rituals that would make them become instant billionaires.
Charity Mensah, who was arrested on Wednesday by the police at her shrine near Amanase in the Ayensuano District in the Eastern Region over a possible role she might have played in the gruesome killing of Ishmael Mensah Adballah, told police interrogators that the teenagers called her on phone to make enquiries about a product they have been advertising called “Pocket no dry”, which is a charm supposedly making people perpetually wealthy.
Police Interrogation
The priestess, who is nursing a two-week-old baby, reportedly admitted to the police that there were a number of telephone conversations between the boys and the shrine owners, and the latter were eager to become fabulously rich.
Police preliminary investigation indicated that the suspects, Felix Nyarko, aka Yaw Anane, and Nicholas Kwame Kini, aged 16 and 17 respectively, have claimed that the priestess was aware of the killing and even alleged she instructed them to bury the body of the 11-year-old boy so she would visit the place later at night with some people, to collect the body for the rituals that would make the teenagers rich.
The fetish priestess, however, reportedly denied that she gave such directions to the teenagers.
It also emerged that Nyarko was the first to contact the shrine after Kini had told him about the shrine.
Bail Granted
The priestess was granted bail last Friday at the CID Headquarters, and is expected to be reporting to the police.
The shrine was nearly burnt down by irate youth of Amanase on Friday, but the timely intervention of policemen from Suhum prevented a nasty occurrence at the place.
After the police stopped them from taking the law into their hands, the chiefs, who were with the irate youth, said they were waiting for three days within which the police must ensure that the fetish priest, now at large, and his wife, who was then in custody, vacated the place, else they would not be able to guarantee their security.
Key Arrest
On Wednesday, a team of policemen from the CID Headquarters in Accra raided the shrine and arrested Charity Mensah and one Desmond Nii Adjei, believed to be an errand boy at the shrine, following claims by the Kasoa teenage ‘killers’ that they had contacted the shrine to enable them become billionaires, and the fetish priest and priestess allegedly told them to bring human parts and blood for rituals.
The fetish priest’s supposed direction, according to the teenagers, compelled them to kill 11-year-old Ishmael Mensah Abdallah for the purposes of money rituals.
The fetish priest, identified as Solomon Adjololo, alias Rasta, an ex-convict who hails from Aflao in the Volta Region, escaped upon hearing that the police were coming for him on Wednesday; and the police have said he was another person of interest in the matter.
Court Process
Per the charge sheet, Nyarko and Kini conspired and killed Ishmael Mensah Abdallah at Coca Cola, near Lamptey Mills in Kasoa.
Intriguing details are emerging about how the two teenage murderers initially wanted to kidnap the boy, collect a ransom of GH¢5,000 and then go ahead to kill him to enable them get the body parts requested by the so-called spiritualist to become billionaires.
Different Offences
According to the particulars of offence as contained in the first count, the two accused persons agreed to act together to commit murder.
The second count is about the two accused persons murdering Ishmael Mensah Abdallah, using a club and cement block for the act, according to Chief Inspector Ernest Agbo, the Prosecuting Officer who signed the charge sheet.
Intriguing Details
The murder of the eleven-year-old boy 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.
The Easter Holidays was the time the duo settled on Ishmael Mensah Abdallah, as the person to be used for the ritual.
Kini went to hide in an uncompleted building near Nyarko’s house for the planned ‘operation’ and the two armed themselves with a club and cement block.
Nyarko, who is a buddy of Ishmael Mensah Abdallah, made contact with him and convinced him to turn up at the uncompleted building where the second accused person had a video game for sale.
Initial Plans
The initial plan of the accused was to kidnap the deceased and demand a ransom of GH¢5,000 after which they would move him to the fetish priest upon receipt of the said amount.
The initial plan did not make sense and informed their decision on the murder option, which they duly carried out using the club and cement block.
How They Killed
When Ishmael Mensah Abdallah showed up, Nicholas Kini, the second accused, used the club to hit his neck from the back.
Felix Nyarko, the first accused, followed up with a killer hit using the cement block on the head of the boy, killing him instantly.
The first accused person’s sister was said to have heard something unusual and decided to walk towards the source of the unusual noise.
She was turned away by her brother who did not want her to see what was happening.
After The Killing
The accused persons, after the act, buried the deceased awaiting nightfall so they could convey the body to the spiritualist.
Unfortunately for them, the first accused person’s sister, who was turned away earlier, reported to her father, Mr. Nyarko, that something unusual had taken place in the uncompleted building.
Mr. Nyarko, who is a step father to the first accused person, proceeded to the uncompleted building and discovered that the location had been interfered with.
Mr. Nyarko subsequently reported the case to the police who arrested the two teenagers.
BY Daniel Bampoe