The Late Major Mahama
The case of 14 persons standing trial for the lynching of the late Major Maxwell Mahama at Denkyira Obuasi (now New Obuasi), in 2017, in the Central Region, mistaking him for an armed robber, is nearing completion.
All 11 of the accused persons have opened their defence and told their side of the story to the court and jury while three of them with advice from their counsels chose not to open their defence.
Akwasi Asante was the last of eleven to open his defence, denying the charges leveled against him. He told the court yesterday that he was innocent and wants the court to free him so he could go back to his wife and children.
The court presided over by Justice Mariama Owusu, a Supreme Court Judge sitting as an additional High Court Judge, yesterday adjourned the case to June 26, 2023, to allow the prosecution and defence lawyers time to obtain records of proceedings before it gives a date for them to file their respective addresses.
Major Mahama was brutally lynched in May 2017, while on detachment duties with some military officers in New Obuasi.
He was the captain of the 31-member military team sent to the town to guard the properties of C&G Mining Company as a result of illegal mining activities in the area.
The 14 all pleaded not guilty to the charges leveled against them although state prosecutors say the accused persons, except the then Assemblyman of the area, William Baah, were captured in a video during the crime.
The Office of the Attorney General on May 16, 2022, closed its case in the trial of the 14 persons who allegedly lynched the late Major Maxwell Mahama at New Obuasi in the Central Region in 2017.
The prosecution during the presentation of its case called 14 witnesses who gave various accounts of what happened on the day and what they witnessed.
Frances Mullen Ansah, a Chief State Attorney during one of the proceedings led the case investigator in evidence when the court played the horrifying videos which captured the accused persons lynching the deceased.
The accused persons opened their defence and denied the accusations made against them although some of them were captured in the videos viciously beating the soldier they had mistaken for an armed robber.
Charles Kwaning denied attacking the deceased and said he was rather trying to rescue him from the angry mob.
Although the accused was captured in a video pointing a gun at the deceased, he told the court that he had taken the gun from one Yaw Amankwa, who wanted to shoot the late soldier.
One of them, Akwasi Baah in his defence admitted heating the deceased with a cement block at the scene but told the court that the late soldier was already dead when he smashed his head with the cement block.
Another one, Bernard Asamoah, also admitted hitting the deceased with a stone but said he only hit the body which was motionless in his attempt to identify him.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak