Two-Year-Old Boy Beaten To Death - Seven Before Court

Seven suspects have been remanded in prison custody for their involvement in the death of a two-year-old boy at Suma Mantukwa, a farming community near Nkrankwanta in the Brong Ahafo Region.

The suspects — Nana Asum Kwame, Peter Kyeremeh, Anthony Oppong, Sylvester Gyamfi, Oscar Twum, Emmanuel Danso and William Amponsah — have also been accused of the unauthorised burial of the boy.

While Nana Asum Kwame has been charged for a contemplated offence of murder, the rest of the suspects have been charged for hindrance of inquest.

They are to reappear before the Dormaa Ahenkro Circuit Court on June 13, 2012.

The court, presided over by Mr Alexander Osei Tutu, also ordered the exhumation of the boy’s body for autopsy.

The police have mounted a search for an eighth accomplice, identified as Kwasi Frank.

Asum, 24, is alleged to have subjected the little boy to severe beating, resulting in his death.

The Dormaa Municipal Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Mahmud Yussif, told graphic.com.gh that while Asum’s plea was not taken, the rest of the suspects pleaded not guilty to the charge.

According to Mr Yussif, the complainant in the case, Madam Yaa Diana, 22, was Asum’s girlfriend and they lived at Suma Mantukwa.

About 5 p.m. on May 27, 2012, Diana prepared dinner for Asum, but just when they were about to eat the food, the deceased, Kofi Christian, defecated on Diana’s laps and so Asum refused to eat the food.

Instead, he requested Diana to buy him some fried eggs from outside, which she obliged.

When she returned in about 10 minutes’ time, Christian was lying motionless on the floor in their room but the man looked unconcerned.

Diana raised an alarm, which attracted neighbours to help her but, unfortunately, the child was already dead.

The elders of the village were informed and they in turn sent two emissaries to Dormaa Akwamu to inform Diana’s family about the incident.

On receiving the sad news, the elders of Dormaa Akwamu also sent two people to Suma Mantukwa to confirm the veracity of the incident.

According to the police, when the two people arrived at Suma Mantukwa, they, together with the other suspects, took Christian’s body to an adjoining village and buried it there.

Meanwhile, he said, a co-tenant had confided in Diana that when she left to buy the fried eggs for Asum, the boyfriend had subjected the little boy to severe beatings.

Based on the information, Diana made a report to the police, who arrested Asum and the others for their various roles in the death and burial of the boy.

graphic.com.gh