2 ‘Mad men’ kill 8
Two persons believed to be mentally deranged murdered eight people in separate incidents at Assin Akrofoum in the Assin South District in the Central Region and Jamasi in the Ashanti Region last Thursday.
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In the Assin Akrofoum incident, a man, believed to be in his 30s and a known drug addict, went berserk, killing his parents and three others.
Akwasi Ganu, an ex-convict, was said to have sneaked into the house of his parents and slashed them with a sharp cutlass.
He killed his mother, Abena Ganu, who was eating, and slashed off the head of his father, George Ganu, 65, before slashing his sister, Janice Ganu, and his four-year-old nephew, identified only as George, to death.
He then turned on the landlord of his parents, Victor Kofi Tano and killed him.
Survivor
The bloody attack left the son of Tano, Kwabena Nyarko, escaping with hand and shoulder injuries.
“He is responding to treatment,” the police said.
Mob response
An angry mob from the town later located Ganu in his hideout and lynched him.
The bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the St. Xavier Hospital at Assin Fosu, while the injured, Nyarko, is said to be receiving treatment at the same facility.
District police
The District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr Andam Okyere, told the Daily Graphic that Ganu was a known drug addict and fish farmer who lived in his cottage on the outskirts of Assin Akrofoum.
He said according to the town’s residents, Ganu sometimes went berserk and behaved abnormally.
Mr Okyere said at about 8p.m., Ganu sneaked into his parents’ house and committed the offence.
Scene
When the Daily Graphic visited the house where the killings took place, scores of people had gathered there to express their condolences to the bereaved families.
Walls in the house had blood stains believed to be from the attacks.
A visibly distraught Ms Diana Ganu, whose brother had brought pain and agony to the family and community, expressed shock at the incident.
She told the Daily Graphic that her brother was not mentally stable.
“He was not stable in the mind; that I can say. He is sometimes very calm and sometimes very aggressive. He is our only brother. We are four girls and him. It is sad,” she said.
Photograph business
Meanwhile, photographers were making big business out of the gory incident. One picture was being sold for GH¢2.
Jamasi
In the Jamasi incident, the suspect allegedly butchered three elderly female farmers in the community.
This made the youth there to go on rampage and vandalise the local police post in their attempt to mete out instant justice to the suspected murderer.
Though it was the youth who arrested the suspect and handed him over to the police, they later requested that the police hand him over to them so that they could lynch him as punishment for his crime.
For refusing to hand over the suspect, the residents pelted the police station with stones and the police had to call for reinforcement from Agona and nearby police stations to restore calm and order.
The suspect, who is yet to be identified by the police, was alleged to have butchered three farmers in the community.
Arrests
Four persons, who led the attack, have been arrested and are currently helping the police in their investigations.
Calm
Currently, the police have beefed up security at the station with additional officers from the Formed Police Unit at the Regional Headquarters in Kumasi.
The suspect has also been moved to another location to ensure his safety.
Death
Two of the deceased, Afia Adukuma, 63, and her sister, Yaa Nyamekye, were murdered on their farm while the third, Rose Akyaa, managed to reach the clinic before she died.
Confirmation
Confirming the incident to the Daily Graphic, the Agona District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr Francis Akwasi Asante, said one Kesewaa, an 80-year-old woman, went to the farm with two of her daughters, Afia and Yaa.
He said while there, the old lady decided to send some foodstuffs to the roadside; about 20 minutes’ walk from the farm, and go back for the rest later. However, while going back, she met Rose, with cutlass wounds and bleeding profusely, returning from the farm.
ASP Asante said the old lady helped the injured Rose to get to the Pope John Paul Clinic, which is not very far from the place to seek medical attention but she died later.
Madam Kesewaa, however, did not see her other daughters on the farm and thinking that they might have taken the lead home, she also returned home but they were not there.
Mr Asante said the old lady informed the community about her missing daughters and a search party was sent to the farm where the bodies were found lying supine, about 20 metres apart.
Search
He said the police and the residents searched for the suspect in the nearby bush and arrested the first suspect at Dawu Tabere, a nearby community.
He said a second suspect was later arrested in another community and sent to the police station.
“So currently, we have two suspects in connection with the three murders but we are yet to interrogate them,” he added.
He said Rose Akyaa could not tell the hospital staff what happened to her before her death.