THE CASE OF 72-YEAR OLD WOMAN, COURT ADJOURNS CASE, DAILY GRAPHIC, MAY 10, 2011 (PAGE 3)

Story: Della Russel Ocloo, Tema

The Tema Magistrate's Court hearing the case in which six people have been charged for allegedly burning a 72-year-old woman, leading to her death, has again adjourned the case to May 23, 2011 to await advice on the docket from the Attorney-General’s (A-G’s) Department.
The trial magistrate, Mrs Johana Yankson, who was not amused at the slow pace at which the case was travelling, did not mince words when the prosecution made the request for an adjournment.
She cautioned that the fact that similar cases had been pending in various courts awaiting advice on dockets from the AG’s Department did not mean that any delay on dockets should be accepted as a norm.
Counsel for the six accused persons, Mr William Lumor, was not in court when the case was called.
The prosecutor, Chief Inspector Emmanuel Addai, told the court that the docket was sent to the AG’s Department for advice in December 2010 after the police had received the pathologist report on the deceased.
He said checks at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Registry revealed that the docket was still receiving attention at the AG’s Department and pleaded for more time.
Mrs Yankson, however, objected but adjourned the case for two weeks because counsel for the accused did not turn up.
She further tasked the prosecutor to follow up and report accordingly to the court on the next adjourned date.
The principal suspect, Samuel Ghunney, in a dramatic twist, ran after the Daily Graphic photographer, Ms Roseline Abban, for attempting to take photographs of him outside the court premises.
A fear-stricken Ms Abban ran to Mr Kwamena Ofosu Yeboah, the son of the deceased, Ama Ahimah, who was also in court to observe proceedings, to avoid being attacked by the suspect.
“So you people do not have any work to do apart from taking photographs of me to be posted onto BBC?” Ghunney asked.
The suspects, Ghunney, a 50-year-old photographer, and Emelia Opoku, a 37-year-old teacher, with the support of Samuel Fletcher Sagoe, 55, an evangelist; Nancy Nana Ama Akrofie, 46; Hannah Sagoe and Mary Sagoe, 52, were alleged to have tortured and set ablaze the old woman, leading to her death, when she strayed into their compound at Community One, Site 7 in Tema.
The deceased, Ama Ahimah, a native of Ajumako Asassan in the Central Region, was said to have been doused with kerosene laced with petrol and set ablaze on November 20, 2010. She passed on a day later.