Man, 65, Burnt To Death

DUNKWA JUNCTION, a popular suburb of Obuasi was in the early hours of Monday, February 25 thrown into a state of mourning, when information reached residents that a 65-year-old man had been burnt to death while asleep.

The deceased, Kwaku Boateng, a native of Amoaful near Bekwai in the Ashanti Region, was said to have met his untimely death when a kiosk (wooden structure) he was sleeping in went up in flames at about 1:30 am on that fateful day.

The body of the 65-year-old plastic rubber mender, when retrieved from the gutted kiosk, had burnt beyond recognition, and had since been deposited at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) mortuary in Kumasi.

An eyewitness, Yaw Fosu told DAILY GUIDE that when the fire started, residents tried calling the fire service in Obuasi but did not get any response because the fire officers at the time had closed from work.

He said having failed in their bid to contact the fire service personnel, the residents decided to fight the fire on their own but only managed to make a headway two clear hours later.

The eyewitness noted that by the time they managed to put out the fire, the body of Kwaku Boateng had charred beyond recognition.

He indicated that the late Kwaku Boateng was seen in the vicinity the evening before his death smoking cigarette as usual and also holding a stick of candle.

He speculated that the fire might have been caused by improper placement of the lit candle.

Adwoa Pinaman, a sister of late Kwaku Boateng, who wept uncontrollably throughout her narration, told DAILY GUIDE that her senior brother traveled to Obuasi just last month to seek greener pastures.

She noted that when he arrived in Obuasi, Kwaku Boateng had nowhere to lay his head and so was compelled to beg one Joseph Okyere, a head teacher at Memeriwa Methodist Primary School in Obuasi, who owned the kiosk, to allow him sleep in it.

The deceased had been lodging in the structure until his inopportune death.

From Morgan Owusu, Obuasi