Court acquits two brothers for murder

Tamale, July 18, GNA - A Tamale High Court on Monday acquitted and discharged two brothers Abubakari Moro Shishie, a 40-year-old Islamic teacher and Fuseini Shishie, a 65-year-old farmer for murder, following a no guilty verdict by a seven-member jury. Abubakari Shishie and Fuseini Shishie appeared before the court for murdering their uncle, Alhaji Limantomah Moro at Kpabuso in the Central Gonja District three years ago.

The jury unanimously voted for the acquittal and discharge of the two brothers who had been charged for causing unlawful harm, conspiracy to murder and murder.

The two suspects had pleaded not guilty. Prosecutor, Mr Komla Agbeko-Kra, a State Attorney, told the court, presided over by Mr Justice Victor Doegah that Moro Shishie was the leader of the Al- Muslim Suna sect while his elder brother Fuseini, was his self-acclaimed deputy who were both residents of Kpabuso, a village in the Central Gonja District where the deceased also lived.

He said the inhabitants of Kpabuso belonged to the Tijania sect until a decade ago when the first accused Abubakari, came back from Saudi Arabia and started propagating fundamentalist ideas based on the Al-Suna beliefs and succeeded in winning some following.

The Prosecution said this made the chief and elders of the area unhappy and vowed never to allow Abubakari to build a mosque for his followers. Mr Agbeko-Kra said Abubakari had for some time put pressure on his uncle to join his Al-Suna sect but he declined and maintained his Tijania faith, a situation, which resulted in a quarrel between the two.

He said on March 2, 2002, Abubakari also known as Osama bin Ladin, upon an earlier warning, led his supporters in sporadic gunfire shots to burn houses belonging to the Tijanias, sending residents running helter-skelter for their lives.

Later in the day, Abubakari went to the deceased house and without any provocation, shot him in both legs, set his house ablaze and abandoned him to his fate, the prosecution told the court.

The Prosecution said moments later, Fuseini also stormed the house of the deceased and shot him in the abdomen.

A combined team of police and military personnel rushed Alhaji Moro to the Tamale Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The team, who had been deployed to maintain law and order in the village discovered that 88 houses belonging to the Tijanias had been completely burnt down.

Abubakari later reported himself to the Police and then led a joint police/military team to his yam farm where the team recovered a shotgun together with 33 shells, the Prosecution said.