"Terminator", 2 others sentenced to death

AN Accra High Court yesterday sentenced three persons to death by hanging for their involvement in the murder of two policemen at Ablekuma in 1998.

Joseph Telewu, alias Terminator; Seth Ababio Kissergbi, alias Rasta, and Daniel Mills, alias Fussy were convicted on two charges of conspiracy and murder by the seven-member jury.

It acquitted and discharged the remaining six after finding them not guilty of the same charges. They are Nii Amo Dodoo, William Nii Muetteh Addo, Newland Awayevu, Okyeame Darko Dodoo, Wisdom Awayevu, alias Kwasi Luga and Yemo Odue, alias Joe Shanton.

William Nii Muetteh Addo was also acquitted and discharged on additional charge of murder.

After the jury, including two females, had returned a unanimous verdict of guilty on the three accused persons, Mrs Justice Beatrice Agyemang Bempah, the trial judge, did not hesitate to pronounce a sentence of death by hanging on them.

The accused persons tortured and murdered Constable Richard Owusu-Sekyere of the Police Striking Force Unit and Constable Jerry Wornoo, stationed at the National Police Academy and Training School, on November 24, 1998.

The case for the prosecution was that the two policemen went to Ayigbe Town, near Ablekuma, to arrest one Semakor, alleged to have trespassed on a piece of land belonging to Owusu-Sekyere, when they met their untimely death.

Before passing sentence, Mrs Justice Bempah asked the three accused persons whether they had anything to say.

All of them told the court that they had never conspired to kill and knew nothing about the death of the two policemen.

Soon after the verdict, the three accused persons were escorted by security personnel into a waiting vehicle and whisked away.

During the trial, which lasted for more than one year, the prosecution team, led by Mr Anthony Gyambiby, Principal State Attorney, called 13 witnesses. Five of the witnesses were police officers, including Dr S. B. Maale Adjei, the specialist pathologist, who performed the post-mortem.

Samuel Nii Oku, a witness was a relative of Wornoo, who on December 30, 1998, identified Wornoo’s body before the pathologist could perform the autopsy on him.

The rest, two school children, two farmers, a trader and a carpenter were all resident at Ablekuma.