Seven people, including two women, who allegedly participated in the gruesome lynching of a 90-year-old woman over claims of witchcraft, have been remanded once again by the Bole District Magistrate Court in the Savannah Region.
They include the ringleader, Sherina Mohammed, aka Hajia Filipina, 40; Latifah Bumaye, 25, a trader believed to be an associate of the ringleader, as well as five other men, namely Haruna Aness, 34; Issahaka Tanko, 35; Shaibu Murtala, 29; Sulemana Ali, 35; and Issahaka Sachebu, 32.
When the case was called, the court, presided over by Andrew Prince Cudjoe, discharged them on the respective charge sheets because the prosecution had prepared a consolidate charge sheet for all of them.
They were then rearrested and charged on the new charged sheet as presented by Salia Abdul-Qudus, a Chief State Attorney who led the prosecution.
They have now been provisionally charged with conspiracy and murder, and were remanded in prison custody by the court.
The Chief State Attorney said the police had assured that they were forwarding the docket to the Attorney General’s Department for legal advice.
“We have assured the judge that once we get the docket in good time within a week our advice will be ready on the specific charges to be preferred against the accused persons and because of the seriousness of the matter we want to commit them for trial by the middle of September so that when the legal vacation is over we can start the prosecution,” he explained.
Court Drama
On August 5 during her maiden appearance in court, Hajia Filipina raised eyebrows when she told the court that she could not stop chasing witches and also healing the sick.
When she entered the dock after being on the run for over a week following the killing of Akua Denteh at Kafaba in the East Gonja Municipality, the presiding magistrate, after taking her through court formalities, enquired from Hajia Filipina if she was willing to stop working as a spiritualist.
Hajia Filipina, who appeared not to show any remorse, retorted in Twi that it was “a calling from God” and she was not ready to abandon her course.
She even informed the magistrate that if he became sick and was brought to her for healing she would heal him.
Hajia Filipina was arrested on Tuesday, August 4, at her hideout at Yeji in the Bono East Region after being on the run for over a week.
Following her arrest, she was moved from Yeji to the Savannah Regional Police Command in Damongo for further interrogation.
According to the Savannah Regional Police Commander, DCOP Enoch Adutwum Bediako, the accused, during preliminary investigation, admitted that she was the person seen in the video taking part in the lynching of the 90-year-old woman.
Other Accused Persons
Latifah Bumaye, who was also on the run, was arrested and appeared before the same court and remanded but before she did, the five men had also made an appearance and been remanded.
From Eric Kombat, Bole