Ofankor landlord murder trial begins on October 17, court to call first witness

An Accra High Court will on October 17, 2023, start the trial of Victor Stephen Nana Kankam, a landlord accused of killing his tenant, Benjamin Okyere at Ofankor in May 2020.

The court is expected to call its first prosecution witness at the next sitting.

Kankam, who has been charged for murdering Stephen Okyere by allegedly shooting him several times, has pleaded not guilty.

The court asked Kankam, aka Nii Kojo Obo Schroeder, a businessman, to be on his former bail.

The State will be calling nine witnesses in their bid to prove the charge of murder.

At today's hearing, October 10, 2023, the prosecution and defense counsel took turns to address the court.

The prosecution, led by Mrs Sefakor Batse, Principal State Attorney, said it would prove its case beyond reasonable doubt that Benjamin Okyere was dead, and that the accused person caused the death by intentionally inflicting unlawful harm on him by shooting him multiple times at close range.

It said the accused person, in his own statement to the Police, admitted going to the house of the deceased armed with a loaded gun.

“He admits that he fired the gun, but denies intentionally shooting him to death."

She urged the jury to listen with rapt attention and deliver a verdict depicting the truth and nothing else.

The defense counsel said the accused person had no intention of shooting Okyere to death.

According to the defense counsel, the accused went to the premises with a gun to talk to the deceased and not to shoot him.

It urged the seven-member jury to return a verdict of not guilty on the accused at the end of the trial.

The case of the prosecution was that the complainant in the matter was John Bosco Kotah, a friend to the victim, Benjamin Okyere, now deceased.

The prosecution said the deceased rented the apartment of the accused located at Ofankor Spot “M” on May 24, 2018, for a period of two years and his rent was due to expire on May 24, 2020.

It said the accused had earlier on made it clear to the deceased that he was not going to renew his tenancy after its expiration.

The prosecution said on May 24, 2020, at about 1:33 pm, the day of the expiration of the said tenancy, the accused wearing a bullet proof vest and armed with a loaded gun, went to the apartment he had rented out to the deceased.

It said the deceased came out of the apartment to meet the accused after he (accused) called him out.

The prosecution said the deceased was later joined by his friend John Bosco Kotah, who was in the living room of the deceased prior to the arrival of the accused.

According to the prosecution, the deceased upon realising that the accused was armed with a gun, he asked his friend to call a police officer friend of theirs whom they had earlier on informed about the misunderstanding between the deceased and the accused before the fateful day.

The prosecution told the court that the complainant went back inside to take his phone phone and while inside, he heard a gunshot.

It said the complainant then ran out of the room and saw his friend lying on the ground in a pool of blood, with the accused running away from the scene holding the gun.

The prosecution said the complainant attempted going after the accused, but the accused threatened to shoot him.

It said the accused run away while the complainant with the help of a taxi driver rushed the victim to the Aneeja Hospital, Tantra Hill and later to the Police Hospital.

The prosecution said they later went to lodge a complaint with the Mile Seven Police Station.

It said the victim was pronounced dead on arrival at the Police Hospital.

It said the Police visited the crime scene and retrieved plastic wads as well as empty cartridges.

The prosecution said the accused person was arrested and a search conducted at his residence where guns, lives cartridges and the bullet proof vest he wore to the residence of the deceased, were retrieved.

On June 10, 2020, a postmortem examination was conducted on the deceased by Chief Superintendent Dr. O. Owusu Afriyie of the Police Hospital, who gave the cause of death as “hemorrhagic shock, several chest injury and gun shot at close range.”

GNA