Yesterday, a second suspect in the death of Major Maxwell Adam Mahama admitted beating the deceased with a cement block at the scene of his lynching by a mob that mistakenly thought he was an armed robber.
The fourth of the 14 defendants, Akwasi Baah, yesterday began his defense and accepted the crime, but he was eager to inform the court that the deceased soldier was already dead when he was struck in the skull with the cement block.
George Bernard Shaw, the accused's attorney, told the court that the accused was not present when the deceased was attacked by the mob and arrived only after the man had been lynched.
The soldier who was lynched was wearing a boot similar to one that one of the robbers used during the robbery, according to Akwasi Baahh, who is accused of murder. In his defense, Akwasi Baahh told the court that he had been the victim of a robbery the day before the incident.
He said on May 28, 2017, he was travelling from Dunkwa-on-Offin to Denkyira Obuasi when they realised a part of the road had been barricaded by armed robbers carrying an AK-47 rifle, a pump action gun and pistols who hijacked the vehicle, commanded everyone to step down and later searched all the passengers on board.
He claimed that the following morning, while still at home, he heard rumors that some of the town's young men had caught one of the armed thieves from the previous day's robbery.
He claimed that after learning that the armed robber had shot a young guy in the foot and transported him to the clinic, he made the decision to visit the facility to determine whether the victim was a relative.
He testified in court that after learning that the young man was not related to him, he left the clinic. Ten minutes after leaving the clinic, he heard that an armed robber had been killed, so he went to the scene of the crime.He claimed to have seen the revolver used in the previous day's heist as well as the deceased's boots, which were also used to kick him during that robbery. This prompted him to grab a block and strike the dead person.
The horrifying lynching footage was aired during the accused's cross-examination by the prosecution, which was headed by Chief State Attorney Frances Mullen Ansah, and the accused admitted to hitting the dead Major Mahama's head as he lay unmoving.
He also acknowledged that he had to carry the cement block with two hands due to its weight, but he refuted claims that he intentionally hit the late Major Mahama's skull.
By: Maxwell
