The Concerned Youth of Lassia, a youth group in the Wa West District, has alleged a conflict of interest in the prosecution of suspects in a murder case involving two young men from the area.

Mr. Jery Sei, a concerned youth, said this at a press conference at Bakpaateng, a community in the district, in relation to the trial of a case involving the murder of two people from the community.

He said the victims, Mr. Kwame Gah John and Mr. Dondomo Moses, were allegedly kidnapped and murdered at Kandeu, a neighbouring community, on 23rd November 2025, and the whereabouts of their bodies had since remained unknown.

The group alleged that the counsel for the accused person, from the law firm of the Upper West Regional Minister and Chairperson of the Regional Security Council, was a “blood brother of the state attorney in the region who is handling the case.”

It deemed the justice process in the case as unfair, and that justice delivery ought not to “be reduced to a family and friends affair” and “negotiated from behind closed doors” or “manipulated by powers that be.”

“This troubling web of professional and familiar relationships creates a glaring picture of a conflict-of-interest scenario and is considered by us a can of worms.

The whole arrangement cannot be said to be fair and therefore lacks integrity, transparency, and credibility in the whole matter of the prosecution processes, Mr. Sei explained.

According to the group, a security meeting held at the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council following the incident indicated that ten suspects had been arrested in connection with the murders.

It said nine of the suspects were granted bail while one remained in police custody after allegedly confessing to the crime and mentioning other accomplices, and questioned why the suspects had still not been apprehended.

Mr. Yiribie Kuur, the father of Mr. Dondomo Moses, one of the victims, said the two victims were going to the market at Wechiau, the district capital, when they were allegedly apprehended and killed.

The youth, therefore, called for the immediate arrest of all persons mentioned in the alleged confession, demanded the recovery of the bodies of the two murdered victims and a fair and transparent trial of the case.

The group also urged the authorities to conduct an independent review of the alleged conflict of interest in the prosecution process.

The group also expressed concern about the general deteriorating security situation in the area, citing insecurity incidents, including a misunderstanding between the people of Lassai-Tuolu and Kandeu in June 2024, which claimed three lives, and an attack on Lassai-Tuolu in October 2015, in which a community member was killed.

They alleged continuous intimidation of the Birifor people, which was stifling their free movement to the market at Wechiau.

The group observed that though they were peace-loving, they would not sit aloof and watch injustice perpetuated against the Birifor people.

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