General News of Saturday, 4 October 2025

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

FLASHBACK: How a bullet made of rice and cowries killed Buokrom Budo

In the 1990s, the name on everyone’s lips was that of Budo. A popular vigilante who hailed from Buokrom in the Ashanti Region.

Budo, born Yaw Aboagye, was renowned for his strength and bravery. But every hero has a villain.

Here is the story of how Buokrom Budo was said to have been killed, not by a real bullet, but one made from rice and cowries.

Read the full story first published on GhanaWeb on May 21, 2023

He was an immortal in their minds, an indomitable force that seemed destined to live forever. However, on August 31, 2004, fans were shattered when news broke of Budo's passing.

Since the passing of Budo, there have been numerous stories of how he died and what killed him. Some say he was killed over a land dispute; others claim his pact with the devil had ended.

However, Ashtown Spirito, a famous street king and godson of Budo narrates how the legendary Buokrom Budo was killed.

In a one-on-one interview with a Kumasi-based media outlet, Ashtown Spirito revealed that Budo was shot dead with an enchanted bullet made up of grains of rice and cowries.

Narrating how it all happened, Ashtown Spirito explained that he believed the then Chief of Buokrom, a relative of Budo had wanted his downfall.

According to Spirito, there was an internal division in the family and Budo led the side against the Chief.

"We knew that the Chief wanted Budo to fall because there was a family dispute and Budo was used to front all opposition against the Chief. So, we all knew they were after each other," Spirito recounted.

He continued to state that, the Chief had a group of ex-air force officers as his personal guards and the daughter of one of these guards was the lover of Budo.

The lover worked as a seamstress at the palace and one day, after a dispute between Budo and his lover, an angry Budo stormed the palace, ransacked the place and destroyed some sowing machines and the office space of the lady

Budo's action infuriated the ex-serviceman who swore Budo could only do that because the men were not in the house. He swore to end the life of Budo should he pull a similar stunt in his presence.

Upon hearing the threats from the guard, Budo returned to the palace to dare him. According to Spirito, the guard upon sighting Budo at the entrance shouted, "You could only do what you did because there were no men in the house".Spirito said Budo replied saying, "But are you a man?".

The guard then warned to kill him should he take a next step. Budo ignored, attempted to move and he was immediately shot at by the ex-serviceman.

Spirito revealed that the doctors that attended to the corpse of Budo were shocked to learn that the bullet that killed him was made of grains of rice and cowries.

According to Ashtown Spirit, Budo was allergic to rice and never for once, in their many years together had he seen Budo eat rice.

ID/EB

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