Man Lynched Over Phone

Kwabena Boateng A 23-YEAR old carpenter, Kwabena Boateng aka Dukura has been lynched by irate youth of Kunka New Town, a suburb of Obuasi, over an alleged missing Nokia 1100 phone valued at GH¢30.

The incident occurred on Wednesday, January 21 this year at about 4 pm.

The deceased who resided at Dokyiwaa, also in Obuasi, met his untimely death minutes after he had bought GH¢1 worth of credit from an MTN vendor at Kunka New Town.

Dukura, it was said, bought the credit from Patience Sunkwa, a 21-year old Senior High School (SHS) graduate, and while going home he was chased by Patience who accused him of stealing her Nokia 1100 mobile phone.

Sources told DAILY GUIDE that the deceased vehemently denied stealing the phone but the credit vendor insisted he stole it, claiming that immediately the deceased left the phone was nowhere to be found.

Reports said the continuous denial of the allegation by the deceased infuriated the MTN credit vendor who raised an alarm which attracted a crowd of youth from the area to the scene.

The paper gathered that because the vendor resides in the area the youth took sides with her and insisted that the deceased produced the phone instantly.

DAILY GUIDE learnt that before the deceased could state his innocence, the mob pounced on him and beat him mercilessly with all kinds of objects till he defecated.

Sources said though the deceased collapsed as a result of severe beatings, the irate youth did not stop but continued to beat him till he died.

After the cruel act, the young men reportedly left the scene and went into hiding for fear of being apprehended.

Sources told the paper that shortly after Patience left the scene and returned to her kiosk she found the phone which she had accused the deceased of stealing.

The body of the deceased lay in the open for some time because no one in the area was willing to notify the police about the murder.

But later an Obuasi-based journalist, Stephen Sekyere informed the police, who quickly moved to the scene to convey the body to the AGA Hospital in Obuasi for autopsy.

Confirming the incident in an interview with DAILY GUIDE, the acting Obuasi Municipal Police Commander, ASP Matthew Asante expressed regret about the incident and cautioned the public against the practice of instant justice.

He stressed that no member of the public has the right to subject suspected criminals to instant justice, noting that the police station is the best place suspected offenders ought to be sent.

ASP Asante indicated that though no arrest had been made yet, his outfit was working hard to track down the perpetrators so that the law could take its course.

He therefore appealed to the public to volunteer information to the police that could help in apprehending the killers.

Meanwhile DAILY GUIDE has learnt that when news of the deceased reached Dokyiwaa, the deceased person's area of residence, the youth of the town together with other youth from a neighbouring town, Binsere, went to attack the people of Kunka New Town where the killing took place.

Sources told the paper that the angry youth who were avenging the death of their colleague, aside attacking residents, also destroyed property worth several thousands of Ghana Cedis.

Investigations conducted by DAILY GUIDE indicated that Patience, who caused the premature death of Dukura, is a daughter of a police officer who was formerly stationed at Obuasi but is now on transfer.

Due to this fact, tongues are already wagging that Patience may escape the arms of the law.

From Morgan Owusu, Obuasi