JB murder trial: I saw blood stains on my water container – Late MP’s neighbour testifies

A trader who deals in African wear has told the High Court in Accra how traces of blood were found on his water container after the New Patriotic Party’s Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa North Joseph Boakye Danquah Adu was killed.

Madam Abigail Marfo, a neighbour of the late legislator said on the night of February 9 between the hours of 1:00am and 2:00am, she heard from her room that somebody was fetching water from her container in front of her door.

Daniel Asiedu, alias Sexy Don Don, has been charged for the murder of the late NPP MP and has pleaded not guilty.

He is also facing a separate charge of robbery while together with Vincent Bosso are facing the charge of conspiracy to rob which they have both denied.

While being led by Mrs Sefakor Batse, a Senior State Attorney for the Republic to give her Evidence-in-Chief, Madam Marfo, the sixth Prosecution Witness, said the traces of blood also led them to their washroom where they found a red hat.

“Prior to that very day, I was not feeling well. I slept throughout the afternoon. So, in the evening, I could not sleep and that extended to the night and I heard somebody fetching water from my container that was in front of my door,” the witness noted.

She said, she asked who was fetching the water, but there was no reply.

According to her, she wanted to go out and check on the person fetching the water, but because she was not feeling well, “I laid my head back.”

In the morning of February 9, 2016, she said, she went back to fetch water from “my container to have a bath but I realised that the plastic cup that I used to fetch the water, there were blood stains on it as well as the container from which I had the water.”

Hat-like object

According to the witness, upon seeing that, blood “I shouted ‘Ei God, blood’, so my landlord’s wife, rushed to where I was, because she knew I wasn’t feeling well, my landlady then called my landlord named ‘Bra Teye,’ who also rushed to where I was.”

She explained that, “the next door from my room is a washroom and there was blood trace that led to the washroom so we followed the blood traces to the washroom where we saw a hat-like object, the landlord asked us not to touch it.”

Police report

The witness told the court that, “My landlord asked me to go back to my room and he went to the police station and reported the incident.”

“The police came and they used certain devices to take photographs of the plastic cup with which they used to fetch the water and the container which had the water,” she stated.

The witness said, the police took the container and the hat away, and later, “a number of police officers came to the house and they took down my statement.

One of the officers, she said, told her that, “the person who killed JB Danquah is the one who came into our compound.”

But, conceded that, due to the number of police officers who came around, she is unable to identify the said officer who took her statement.

While concluding on her Evidence-in-Chief, she told the court that, the suspect at the time was brought to the house but they were all asked to enter their rooms before he was brought to their compound.

“My Lord I was in my room when I heard the police officers asking the young man where exactly he fetched the water. I could hear them so it was very close to my room although I could not see who the young man was,” she noted.

Cross-examination

Under cross-examination from defence lawyers led by Lawyer Yaw Dankwah, when asked if her statement taken by the police was captured on a police letterhead, the witness said she could not recall.

Witneses so far

The court presided over by Her Ladyship Justice Lydia Osei Marfo has adjourned the case to March 8, 2022 for further cross-examination.

So far, Samuel Berko Sakodie, driver of the late MP (PW1), Samuel Apraku Mensah, his night security guard, (PW2), Kennedy Koranchie, a mobile phone repairer (PW3), George Amofa, (PW4) and So far, Dr Lawrence Edusei, the Pathologist (PW5) have all given evidence and have been discharged.

---kasapafm