Family of late Miotso kingmaker petitions IGP over failure of police to prosecute killers

Family of the late Francis Tetteh Botchwey, a Kingmaker of the Miotso Traditional area, a suburb of the Ningo Prampram District of the Greater Accra Region, have petitioned the Inspector General of Police and the Police administration to as a matter of urgency ensure the arrest and prosecution of all persons involved in the murder of their kinsman.

According to the family, Mr Botchwey was gruesomely murdered by suspected police officers with the aid of some landgaurds on the 29th of December 2016.

Background

It would be recalled that on Friday the 29th of December 2016, the late Francis Botchwey was murdered in cold blood by suspected police officers from the Tema Regional Police Command with the aid of some suspected landgaurds from Dawhenya enclave another suburb of the Ningo Prampram District.

Events leading to the murder of Mr Francis Botchwey who was killed together with his employee in his uncompleted building, after he had gone there to inspect the progress of work on the building, was as a result of an earlier skirmishes perpetrated by some suspected landgaurds from Dawhenya who were sent to terrorise residents there on the orders of the chief of Dawhenya over a long outstanding land dispute in the Miotso township (Kindly note that the said disputed land was duly contested in court by the Miotso traditional area led by the late Francis Botchwey and won with a ruling in their favour).

Eyewitness accounts gave a vivid picture of how 8 policemen who were dispatched to the scene to restore calm and order, managed to trail the late Francis Tetteh Botchwey (who had been the target of the landgaurds) to his uncompleted building with the aid of the some suspected landgaurds who had been arrested by the police earlier on for their role in the violence and were place at the bucket of a police pick-up truck, where they shot him with an excuse that they had mistook him for a suspected armed landgaurd operative.

Police report in the event leading to the murder of the late kingmaker has been inconsistence to the fact that they claimed the late kingmaker had a gun in his possession and had wanted to attack them, whereas the account of some eyewitnesses and that of some private detectives mandated to investigate the case proved contrary.


Martey Marko is one of the suspects arrested

Questions unanswered

It's been almost two years now since the murder of Francis Botchwey, age 69, who left behind 8 children and two wives, and yet the police have failed to even haul before court and prosecute the 12 suspects who were arrested in connection to the murder.

Despite the concrete evidence provided to the police on suspected landgaurds who had caused the earlier skirmishes that led to the death of Mr Francis Botchwey, nothing has been done or said by the police.

A recent directive from the IGP to the police administration to interrogate personnel including the then former Tema regional police commander DCOP Awini, Director of Operations COP John Kudalor (who later became IGP) accused of compromising their offices in the matter, is yet to be followed or adhered to.

Names of suspected landgaurds who had a hand in the murder of our late kingsmen have been given as Martey Markoko, Richard Razak and co (find attached their pictures) etc, yet they walk freely without any fear, claiming they are untouchable.

The repercussions of the December 29 attack which claimed the life of Francis Tetteh Botchwey, his 19-year-old employee Selassie, and the destruction of properties at Miotso, has been enormous.

There has been series of attacks by these same suspected landgaurd operators which was led by one Martey Makoko who is allegedly being sponsored by the Chief of Dawhenya Nene Kwaku Darpoh in the aftermath of the murder incident, which has resulted in the burning of vehicles, shops and a house, belonging to the son of the late Francis Botchwey who became their next target.

Latest of such attack has to do with that of a gun attack on the assembly member of the North Dawhenya electoral area Theophilus Tetteh Botchwey who also doubles as the junior brother of the late Francis Botchwey on the 18th day of August 2018 at 12:30 am (the case has since been taken over by the Tema Regional Police Command).


James Badu is a suspect

Observation

We are appalled by the sudden muteness of the police administration on this case. Because we know the police administration as a very proactive one, with references being that of the quick responses or repelling attacks when one of their own is either killed by suspected armed robbers or attacked (assaulted) by a member of the general public.

For this reason, we are made to believe that the police administration’s failure to solve a two-year murder case, might be induced by the discovery that some hierarchy (whether retired or in active service) might have been found culpable in the case.

We appeal to the Police administration to as a matter of urgency revisit the case and bring to book all persons who conceived and conceited to the murder of the late Francis Tetteh Botchwey.