Ho court orders re-trial of Kyabobo park murder case
The Ho High Court has ordered the re-trial of a murder case involving a farmer who is said to have killed a security guard of the Games and Wild Life Division at Nkwanta in the Volta region.
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This was after a jury em-paneled for the case voted for a not guilty verdict.
Although the trial judge, Justice Patrick Baaye while summing up the evidence in court pointed to the fact that the prosecution had proved five elements which showed that the farmer, Mr. Safianu Muniru committed the crime, a 5-2 majority decision of the seven-member jury exonerated him.
Following the decision, the judge discharged the jury and ordered a re-trial because the jury could not unanimously decide on the verdict as required in law.
Murder Charge
Mr. Muniru had been accused of intentionally causing the death of the deceased, Samuel Sewura who he is said to have shot with a gun when the latter confronted him for unlawfully entering the Kyabobo National Park and killing a game.
After the delivery of the verdict, his counsel Mr. Emil Atsu Agbakpe pleaded that the accused who had stayed in custody for three years should be granted bail while the re-trial went on but the court declined, saying that there was nothing to show that the re-trial would delay.
This was after the State Attorney in the matter, Mr. Moses Asampoa had opposed on grounds that the re-trial would be done in a speedy manner and also for the fact that murder was a serious offence with a greater penalty of death, therefore a possibility that the accused could abscond.
His counsel visibly unhappy with the decision of the court not to grant bail stated that ‘I will look at the applicable law to see whether the case warrant a re-trial’.
Facts of the case
The prosecution case presented to the court was that on March 2013 at about 8:00 pm, the deceased together with four other guards of the game division went to Kyabobo National park on their normal patrol duty.
At about 8:30pm, the team heard a gunshot at Tokuro, a section of the park and followed up to find out who had entered the park.
Patrolling the area till the next day, they reportedly found a red flunk duiker killed by a gunshot and kept under a tree in the park and therefore laid ambush to find the culprit.
At about 9:00 am same day; Muniru emerged at the scene with a single barrel gun carrying two species of animals in his hunting bag and picked the duiker.
The deceased who was the leader confronted and attempted to arrest him but Muniru allegedly shot the deceased at close range killing him on the spot.
Muniru took to his heels and was pursued by the other guardsmen who eventually arrested him with the gun.
The prosecution called three witnesses including the investigator to prove their case.
Accused Denial
The accused admitted going to the reserve illegally but denied the offence of murder claiming that it was one of the guards on duty with the deceased who had shot him using his (accused) gun while he tried to escape arrest.
Mr. Muniru in evidence explained that when he heard the command from the deceased to surrender, he abandoned his gun and run away. It was later that when he was arrested by the guards that he got to know the deceased had been killed.
Meanwhile the Park Manager, Mr. Joseph Binlinla said the verdict was ‘unfair and demoralising as it will put fear in guards who sacrifice their lives to protect these reserves’.