Tension in Tefle over arrest of 3 for chief’s murder

Information reaching Today as at press time yesterday points to a simmering tension between the Sogakofe District Police and the Tadame family of Mr. Kwadzovi Kumahlor, one of the three suspects arrested for their alleged involvement in the murder of 59-year- old Torgbe Adontsiri V of Tefle who had gone missing for the past five years.

According to insiders, the Tadame family could not fathom why the police were in bed with some unscrupulous residents at the Tefle Traditional Area in the Volta Region to wrongly arrest Mr. Kumahlor since according to them, a report was made to the police to the effect that Mr. Kumahlor did not know anything about the gruesome murder of Torgbe Adontsiri.

“We are all appealing to government to, as a matter of urgency, intervene in the matter in order to release Mr. Kumahlor immediately because he is innocent of the murder of our chief …We don’t want any mayhem in Tefle again, all that we want is peace to prevail, if the right thing is not done then we will advise ourselves,” the family of Mr. Kumablor cautioned.

The Sogakofe District Police Command on Tuesday, October 23, 2012 arrested Kpoto Mlofe, 63, Dzikpeto Addo Mlofe, 42, and Kwadzovi Kumahlor, 73, all farmers at Tefle, for their alleged involvement in the murder of Torgbe Adontsiri V.

A probe by the police forced the three to subsequently lead investigators at the Sogakofe District Police Station to the unmarked grave of the deceased chief.

The Sogakofe District Police Commander, DSP Rev. John Opoku, told journalists that the deceased person’s son, Tetteh Dotsi, in the company of the widow, Ama Dotsi, and his brother, Believe Dotsi, called at the station on Monday, October 22, to report that sometime in 2007, he (Tetteh) was at Abotuase when he received a call from Yaw Dotsi, a cousin that his father had been rushed to the hospital for treatment after falling sick.

He said he came down expecting to be taken to the said hospital but that never happened. His mother, Ama, could also not tell the whereabouts of their father. In September this year, the three suspects held a meeting during which they planned the funeral of Torgbe Adontsiri and followed it up with an invitation letter allegedly signed by the Fiaga of Tefle Traditional Area, Torgbe Nakakpo Dugbaza VIII, stating that the late chief’s final funeral rites would be held in December.

As tradition and custom demand, the three and their cohorts on October 10, begun firing musketry to herald the final funeral rites of the late chief whose remains his wife and children claimed they had not seen.

They are therefore suspected to be the masterminds behind the murder and secret burial of the deceased.

The suspects were on Thursday, October 25, arraigned before the Dabala Magistrate Court and were charged on four counts of conspiracy, kidnapping, murder and hindrance to inquest.

Narrating the facts to the court, prosecuting Inspector Jacob Awiagah said the complainant, Ama Dotsi, reported that sometime in 2007, she and her husband Torgbe Adontsiri, chief of the Deh Clan of Tefle-Tademe, were asleep when the three suspects knocked at their door.

At the sound of the knock, at about 12 midnight, Torgbe opened the door and was invited out by the three but had since never returned home. The plea of the three was not taken.

However their counsel narrated a different opinion saying the arrest of the three was influenced by a rival of Torgbe Adontsiri who he said was a police officer.

Counsel said the deceased chief died of natural causes. He explained that Torgbe Adontsiri died in the arms of his wife who then raised an alarm drawing the attention of the three suspects to the scene. He claimed he was sent to the Akatsi Hospital mortuary and later buried in his deserted house according to the custom and tradition of the Tefle people.

Counsel for the defendants then backed his claims with documents including photographs of the installation of the said successor to the deceased chief. The photos allegedly showed a daughter, nephew and widow of the deceased chief in a jubilant mood during the enstoolment of the rival, Torgbe Adontsiri VI.

The deceased’s daughter, Malafa Dotsi, who identified her mother in the said photos, told the court that her father died and was buried. She said she was informed about the death just a day after her father died.

But Believe Dotsi who resides in Accra, said he was not aware that his father was dead until now.

The widow was indisposed and was therefore not in court. The presiding magistrate then adjourned the case to Tuesday November 7, 2012 after he admitted the three to bail to the sum of GH¢4,000 each with two sureties each.

One of the two sureties was each to be justified. He also ordered the police to invite Yaw Dotsi, the nephew of the deceased, for questioning.

The three have not been able to meet the bail terms and are still being kept in police custody until the terms of the bail are met.