Serial killers strike

In less than three months, more than four persons have been reportedly murdered in Sefwi Futa, a farming community in the Sefwi-Wiawso District of the Western Region.

After killing the victims in cold blood, the killers, who in many cases escaped arrest, dumped the bodies into gutters and rivers, ostensibly to outwit the police.

The Daily Guide newspaper reports that from July to September this year, over four unidentified persons have suffered the same fate. However, one dead body that was found in River Kosuman in the area on Thursday July 15, 2010, was identified as Nana Kojo Ofori, a 35-year-old farmer from the area.

Four suspects arrested in connection with his murder have been granted bail. A number of terrified residents of the area expressed fears that the victims might have been gruesomely murdered for ritual purposes. Grieving over the murders, Nana Bawie, a regent of the community, said the secret killings had plunged the entire community into a state of insecurity as farmers had stopped going to their farms for fear of being attacked.

According to the opinion leader, the level of panic in the area was so frightening that even school children were unwilling to go to school for fear of being murdered. The paper named the four suspects arrested in connection with Kojo Ofori's murder as Kwasi Koduah, Kwasi Effie, Kweku Koh alias Abeiku and Kwaku Zakariah, all businessmen.

A police source told DAILY GUIDE that the suspects were granted bail when they were arraigned before a Sefwi-Wiawso High Court recently.

The people are therefore calling on the National Security to storm Sefwi Futa and arrest the perpetrators to put a stop to the serial killings going on in the area.

Nana Bawie, who is the head of the Asona clan in Sefwi Futa and uncle of the deceased, noted that he was in his room on at about 6: 15 am when he heard some people calling the name of his nephew, amidst wailing and heading towards his house.

When he came out, he was told that Ofori was found dead in the river which was a few kilometers from the deceased's house. Nana Bawie then went to inform the Krontihene of Sefwi Futa, Nana Agyam and the Town Development Committee chairman, Yaw Fosu, about the incident.

The three persons then went to report the case to the Sefwi-Wiawso Police, who later went to remove the body from the river to the Sefwi-Wiawso Government Hospital morgue. According to the uncle of the deceased, police investigations led to the arrest of the four suspects. He said the case was sent to the Sefwi-Wiawso High court and after a series of court proceedings, the four suspected murderers were granted bail on Friday September 17, 2010.

Another family member of the deceased, Nana Agyei, who corroborated the story, indicated that when the family members went to court on that Friday, they were told that Sefwi-Wiawso High Court judge was on leave so another judge from Tarkwa presided over the hearing.

He stated that halfway through the proceedings, the judge retired to his chambers on break.

The family members of the deceased, he said, sat in the courtroom till about 4pm only to be told by the court clerks that the judge had gone back to Tarkwa, so they should go home.

The clerks then informed the family members that the four suspects had been granted bail and did not know the next adjourned date. "In fact we suspected foul play because we could not fathom why the accused persons should be granted bail without the judge openly informing the court about the next adjourned date," he added.

When contacted, DSP Raymond Erzuah, Sefwi-Wiawso District Police Commander, confirmed that the four suspects were arrested in connection with the killing of Ofori and were sent to court. He noted that he was later informed that counsel for the four suspects filed an application for bail and it was granted.