Ghanaian Murders Ghanaian in UK

A DJ accused of shooting an innocent bystander during an altercation outside a pub says that he had left the venue before the incident.

Emmanuel Sakyi, 22, of Wheatfields, Beckton, told Woolwich Crown Court on Friday that a man tried to snatch his chunky gold bracelet hours before the shooting at the Live and Let Live pub in Romford Road, Forest Gate.

Sakyi, known as 'Froggie' or 'DJ Frogster', said he left the club and was at his lover's flat in Earlham Grove at the time of the shooting.

Shots were fired outside the pub at 4.30am on August 1, 2008, after a group of men threw a bottle at another group.

Karl 'Kudjo' Gbedemah, 47, who had been seen begging in the area, was hit in the head with a stray bullet and died.

Jurors were told that days after the murder the defendant obtained a Ghanaian passport and bought a £767 ticket to fly out to Ghana from Gatwick Airport on August 8.

But Sakyi told the court that he had been planning to visit Ghana, where his parents were born, for some time to set up a taxi business and visit his younger brothers who were living with other members of his family.

Sakyi denies murder and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. The trial continues.