Anuwar Sadat Mohammed, who was arrested in connection with the alleged murder of the Asamponhene of Manhyia Palace, Nana Kwadwo Afoduo, has appeared before a district court at Asokore Mampong provisionally charged with murder
The plea of the 38-year-old suspect was not taken and the court, presided over by Ms Portia Molly Anafo Salia, remanded him into prison custody until October 17.
Counsel for accused, Stephen Alewabah who held brief for the substantive counsel, Mr John Ndebugri, asked for a bail but the prosecutor, Police Inspector Edward Kwame Adade, told the court that would interfere with investigations.
However, Ms Anafo-Salia indicated that, it was not within the District Court’s jurisdiction to grant bail to the suspect and so Counsel Alewabah should try the high court.
It is recalled the Ghanaian Times reported on September 20, 2019 that, a vigilant driver and some passengers en-route to Burkina-Faso helped to arrest Mohammed who the police in Ashanti had launched a manhunt for his arrest in August 2019.
Mohammed was said to have been spotted by the driver and some passengers of a Burkina Faso-bound commercial vehicle, just after crossing the Ghana-Burkina Faso border.
Some reports suggested that, one of the last meetings the late chief attended was with the suspect who is alleged to be the mastermind behind the murder.
His sudden disappearance and subsequent turning off of his mobile phones heightened the suspicion of the police who had been on his heels until his arrest.
On the day of the incidence, the Ghanaian Times gathered that, the 46-year-old chief and owner of the Golden Eye, formerly known as X5 Pub, a popular entertainment joint at Krofrom, a suburb of Kumasi, was allegedly murdered in cold blood in his private Toyota Land Cruiser at Ebuom, on the Ejura–Nkoransa road at about 4:30p.m. Sunday afternoon.
His body was found at the back seat of the vehicle with registration number GC 7212-16, with his hands tied behind him and a big cut on his forehead and other multiple wounds on his back.
But, for some church members who were returning from a convention, the body and vehicle would have been burnt beyond recognition as assassins were said to have set the vehicle on fire.
According to sources, the airbag burst and reduced the intensity of the fire and with the help of other motorists, the church members managed to put it off and raised alarm before the police got to the scene.
Some relatives told the Ghanaian Times at the Krofrom residence of the deceased that, the late chief went out in the morning for normal Sunday rounds and was alone in his vehicle only for the news of his demise to reach them in the evening.
The family believed the deceased was grabbed by his captors, killed and sent to Ebuom to create impression he was travelling on the highway.
FROM KINGSLEY E.HOPE, KUMASI
