The landlord who allegedly murdered his tenant at Ofankor in Accra has been remanded in police custody by a Kaneshie District Court in Accra.
The suspect, Victor Stephen Nana Kankam, allegedly shot the victim, Benjamin Okyere, a budding musician, four times.
He was initially rushed to Anoeja Hospital at Tantra Hill and later taken to the Achimota Mile 7 Police Station, where a formal complaint was lodged.
The victim was then taken to the Police Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
While it is still not clear what triggered the deadly incident, there are rumours that the landlord killed the tenant over a woman.
Romantic Affair
Nana Kankam is said to have expressed interest in a woman the tenant was close to and asked him (tenant) for help to win the lady’s affection. The tenant succeeded in ‘helping’ the landlord start a romantic affair with the said lady.
However, the tenant, according to reports, liaised with the lady to ‘milk’ the landlord dry, always requesting cash and gifts from the landlord.
Devising Scheme
According to the rumours, having been milked dry, the landlord ‘devised’ a scheme to take ‘revenge’ by ensuring that the tenant moved out when his rent advance was due.
The tenant, during an argument with the accused, had asked for more time to pack out of the room but in the heat of the argument, Nana Kankam allegedly shot the deceased four times, targeting his penis, stomach, and chest areas.
Self-defence
The accused later claimed to the police that he acted in self-defence.
“Although I am not supposed to talk to you without legal representation, all I can say is that I shot him in self-defence,” he had said.
Court Date
He was put before the Kaneshie District Court yesterday charged with murder, and his plea was not taken as the case was still at the committal stage.
He was remanded in police custody by the court, presided over by Magistrate Adwoa Achaamaa Ofosu, to reappear on June 8, 2020.
Besides, the court ordered that the accused be tested for Covid-19.
According to the facts presented by Chief Inspector Stephen Ahialey, the budding musician had rented an apartment from the accused for a period of two years which expired on May 24, 2020.
He said the tenant opted to renew his tenancy agreement which the accused initially agreed to but later changed his mind and asked him to vacate the property.
The accused, according to the facts, persistently asked the tenant to vacate the room and hand over the keys to him.
It said on May 24, the accused took his loaded pump action gun, hired a taxi and went to the house where the tenant was staying.
The tenant then called his friend on the phone and the friend upon arrival saw the accused with the gun and reportedly got scared.
The friend then went into the tenant’s room to pick a phone to call the police.
“Without any provocation from the tenant, the accused person opened fire and shot him four times at close range, inflicting multiple gunshot wounds on him,” the facts of the case revealed.
Chief Inspector Ahialey told the court that the tenant was rushed to Anoeja Hospital at Trantra Hill and was later sent to the Achimota Police Station where a formal complaint was lodged.
He said the deceased was rushed to the Police Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
He added that a search conducted in the accused person’s room revealed two pump action guns with seven and eight rounds of cartridges each and 42 live cartridges.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak