Weeping And Gnashing Of Teeth At Adum

The girl and the gunshot wound. Through her ivory temple splattered … with fresh crimson tears, He witnesses her, breathing for the last time, before he takes life from her discarded body.

Isobel G.
In our youthful days-they were halcyon days, our heyday-the four places that “boys will be boys” in Kumasi, were Adum, Asafo, Bantama and AshTown.

There was no need for vehicles. We would trek from Asafo and go to Adum or AshTown; others would 'criss-cross' -and return home, satisfied, to doss. Each family would guard their ladies there jealously: but if you are smart and you grabbed a girl, you would be called 'akonta' and you would be in their “good books”.

That is how come, we managed to get our better half from Adum. Our father-in-law was Oheneba Boakye Dankwa, and the day we went for the 'knocking', he took a sip of the Schnapps and gave the dregs in the glass to us to drink-signifying acceptable relationship.

We were both from the Bretuo Clan. The venue was the Akyempem hene's house, and he was the son of Otumfuo Prempeh I who had returned from exile in Seychelles.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene (like the Asantehenes before him) would visit Akyeremade and go to the Baamu to pray in the morning any time there was an Akwasidae (and sometimes Awukudae) to pray to the ancestral spirits and later sit in state in the house to receive homage and settle disputes.

“Adum girls” the ladies (some in their sixties and seventies) at Adum would call themselves: they were very beautiful and well-groomed. Just opposite were the houses that were run as harems, and the rooms were occupied by Nigerian prostitutes (Itsekiris and Ibos mostly) and their Ghanaian counterparts (Krobos and Ewes, with very few Bonos, Nzemas and Asantes) who sold their bodies in return for two shillings (2-2).

Victoria Dapaah, 27-year-old, a.k.a, MaaAdwoa had a chequered infancy, her mother died when she was very young, and as Asante customs had it, she was fostered by her auntie, the sister of her late mother, Afia Kaya; she was very beautiful and Maame Sakyiwaa, her grandmother, took very great care to nurture her.

She was hard working, and undertook tuition in fashion: manicure, pedicure and related jobs. She supplemented her income by opening a drinking bar close to her house OTB 500 which she kept open until 9:30pm. She was a lovely girl, and whenever Otumfuo visited, she would provide us, Dr. Prempeh, Nana Osei, Owusu-Ansah, Nana Adusei with plastic chairs from her drinking spot.

She met a guy from Bantama and their romance produced one baby girl Maame Serwaa (a.k.a Agudee) now almost three (3) years. Krakye went to the U.S. and was contemplating coming over to take her to join him. But just as she was making her travel plans, Inspector Ahmed Twumasi of SWAT came to “cross her”.

Maa Adwoa's brothers never liked Twumasi because he was not “her size” and she wanted to get out of the 4-month-old romance. He had a very repulsive behaviour and his bossy attitude grated on her.

He was always suspicious of Maa Adwoa's movements and was always accusing her of infidelity.

He once went to Maa Adwoa's house and when her brother told him she was having a wash, he opened the door of the bathroom and entered there to confirm her brother's excuse.

In the evening of Thursday, 20/04/23, she responded to a lady friend's (Eunice) invitation, and went outside, despite the remonstrations by her elder brother, Emmanuel Oppong, who always monitored his sister's movements.

Her only excuse was that she was seeing her friend in the neighborhood and would return in a jiffy. Then, pa-pa-pa-pa. It was not Christmas, so people ruled out “Knock-out” Curious neighbours came out of their houses to see the spectacle. The bullets had pierced Maa Adwoa's head, heart, and tummy. And the tormentor kicked the body as she lay dead. Callousness? Insensitivity?

After the dastardly act, the rascal in a mufti, boarded an auto rickshaw tricycle (Pragya) and sped off. Fortunately for Maa Adowa's family, there was a CCTV camera in one of the shops near Dufie Towers, and it captured the scene. Besides, people around heard her plea: “Tycoon don't kill me; Tycoon don't kill me”. But all the pleas fell on deaf ears, What! Unbelievable!

Maa Adowa was rushed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (Emergency Unit) but was pronounced dead on arrival.

The suspect was apprehended and on Tuesday 25th April brought before the Asokore Mampong District Court with His Worship Samuel Buabin Quansah sitting for committal. The charges were read by the Police Prosecutor, ACP Blagogee, but the suspect's plea was not taken.

In his statement, Inspector Twumasi alleged that Maa Adwoa was his girlfriend; she owed him Gh¢5,000 and he wanted to collect it but MaaAdwoa was dilly-dallying.

The Adum boys are asking so many questions: Adumpaanie (Is this Adum we used to know? Boxers like Asebi-Boakye J.J.Kani so nie). What crime did MaaAdwoa commit to have her life cut so short, and so cruelly? The boys are agitated; they spew venom but they are respectful.

They appreciate the fact that they cannot take the law into their own hands but they want to see justice done! And they have the backing and support of all of us who are associated with Adum. Parents of Krakye can hardly believe that their prospective-in- law would leave them under such horrible circumstances. Reverend Kyei Maame Sarpong… all of you … Due, due ne amane-hunu.

One suffers capital punishment when he commits murder. Section 46 of the Criminal Offences Act (Act 29) says, “Whoever commits murder shall be liable to suffer death” And Section 47 says: Whoever intentionally causes the death of another person by any unlawful harm is guilty of murder; unless his crime is reduced to manslaughter by reason of such extreme provocation or other matter of partial excuse, as mentioned in Section 52.

The accused is to appear in court again on 30^th May, 2023. We are waiting and watching events. A married man in his early forties, with children, commits murder… As lawyers, we know the case is sub-judice. We will, therefore not comment, but pause.

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By Africanus Owusu-Ansah