Major Mahama trial: Two persons found innocent by court share their story

Two persons acquitted and discharged by an Accra High Court over the murder of Captain Mahama have spoken about their experience and ordeal following their release from jail.

Bismark Donkor and Bismark Abanga were part of 14 individuals who were arrested and charged some seven years ago following the gruesome murder of the military officer at Denkyira Obuasi in the Central Region.

According to Donkor, he was picked up in his bedroom by armed soldiers who subjected him to severe beatings.

"They beat me up when they arrested me because I was in my bedroom, and when they knocked on the door, I didn't open up. They kicked down the door, entered the room and met me in my boxers.

"For evidence's sake, I have kept the boxer shorts for the last seven years. Though the killing was wrong, I can't understand why I was subjected to such treatment because I was innocent," he stated in an interview on Starr FM.

On how he came to be a suspect in the case, Donkor, who is a cocoa farmer, said he had on the day of the murder heard some noise in town and sought to find out but was advised against going out by his wife.

He stated that he never went out and did not even see what happened to the deceased.

Abanga, on the other hand, said he was visited at home by a police CID on September 12, 2017, who informed him that he was under arrest for the murder of Captain Mahama.

"I am an electrician, so when he came, I thought he had come for my service, but he said he had been asked to bring me to Accra for the murder of Captain Mahama. On May 29, when the murder took place, I heard [an] unusual noise coming from outside, and I asked my wife if she had any idea what was happening.

"She said she had heard some gunshots, so I took my shirt to go outside and find out what had happened, but she asked me not to. I sat back and decided to continue repairing a TV.

"One of my apprentices who had sneaked out to the scene came back to inform me that an armed robber had been lynched. I asked him where it happened, and he mentioned the location. I went there and found the deceased in a very sorry state. I couldn't stand the sight of the blood, so I returned," he stated.

Both men, who had maintained their innocence throughout the trial, said they had all lost their livelihood after being on remand for seven years.

According to Abanga, he has lost his repair shop and cocoa farm, while Donkor stated that he had to sell off his cocoa farm to fund his defence.

Major Mahama tragically lost his life in a lynching incident while on duty, reportedly mistaken for a robber.

TWI NEWS

Over fifty suspects were apprehended, with fourteen eventually put before the court.

Among them were William Baah, then-Assemblyman for Denkyira Obuasi, Bernard Asamoah (also known as Daddy), Kofi Nyame (alias Abortion), Akwasi Boah, Kwame Tuffour, Joseph Appiah Kubi, Michael Anim, and Bismarck Donkor.

The remaining defendants include John Bosie, Akwasi Baah, Charles Kwaning, Emmanuel Badu, Bismarck Abanga, and Kwadwo Anima.

In July 2022, the High Court dismissed a motion for a case dismissal by the legal representatives of the 14 defendants in the trial.

On January 29, 2024, a jury hearing the case returned a guilty verdict against 12 accused persons and acquitted and discharged Abanga and Donkor.

The 12 other accused persons were subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment by the court.



GA/SARA