KILLED! Martha Tetteh
THREE PERSONS, including an elder of the Sefwi Bekwai Traditional Council and a self-styled pastor, have been arrested by the police in connection with the murder of a 27-year-old woman at Sefwi Bekwai Atwumah in the Western North Region.
The deceased, identified as Martha Tetteh, was beheaded and had her body dumped in a bush near an uncompleted building on June 27, 2022.
The suspects arrested are Solomon Sam, alias Paa Solo; John Nana Addai, alias Akwasi Kokoreh who is alleged to be a member of the council of elders of Sefwi Bekwai Traditional Council, and also a church elder; and Osofo Attah alias Prince Attah, a self-styled man of God.
A police report has indicated that Paa Solo allegedly lured the victim from Kumasi, where she lived, to seek spiritual help from Osofo Attah, on the orders of Akwasi Kokoreh.
According to Chief Superintendent Grace Ansah-Akrofi, Director of Public Affairs Directorate of the Police Headquarters, Paa Solo, who allegedly introduced the deceased to the self-styled spiritualist, was arrested on July 12, 2022, at his hideout at Bibiani.
She said further investigations led to the arrest of suspect Osofo Attah, the spiritualist, who during the interrogation, admitted his involvement in the crime and mentioned Akwasi Kokoreh as the one who contracted suspect Solomon Sam to lure the victim to Sefwi Bekwai, to consult (him) as a spiritualist.
The police report said, “Suspect John Nana Addai, was also arrested on July 20, 2022, at Sefwi Atronsu where they were later put before court on Thursday, July 21, 2022, and remanded to reappear on August 4, 2022.”
She admitted that the body of the deceased has been deposited at the Bibiani Government Hospital for preservation and autopsy.
Meanwhile, further checks have indicated that the head of the deceased is yet to be found.
Some residents who spoke on condition of anonymity said suspect Akwasi Kokoreh was part of the elders who wore black cloth, entered Nananom’s shrine to consult their powerful river called ‘Anorku’ to pour libation to deal with the perpetrators who beheaded Martha Tetteh.
“He played a key role in all the rituals, and is highly respected in the community,” they said.
The residents said, a ‘Sakawa’ boy died in an accident in the area in mysterious circumstances, so when the gruesome murder happened, residents’ suspected his group to be responsible for the murder of the lady.
Meanwhile, members of the ‘Sakawa’ group on Saturday, hit the roads in jubilation after news broke out that Akwasi Kokoreh has been arrested, claiming they have been vindicated.
The deceased is a single mother of two children and lived at Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
By Emmanuel Opoku & Linda Tenyah-Ayettey