Major Mahama: I struck a soldier with a stick while he was weak – the sixth accused appears in court

In the case where over 14 people are on trial for the murder of the late Major Maxwell Mahama, the sixth accused has admitted beating the deceased soldier with a stick.

Joseph Appiah Kubi acknowledged using a stick to strike the deceased military commander, but said he did it because the young soldier was “weak” at the time.

Despite playing videos of his acts at the crime site in open court, he refuted the prosecution’s claim that he also used a big cement block and stones to smash the young soldier.

A Chief State Attorney claimed that after further investigation by the prosecution, which was headed by Ms. Frances Mullen Ansah, that the accused and the other 13 people deliberately injured the deceased soldier, which resulted to his death.

However, the accused said that despite striking the soldier with a stick, he did not follow up by striking him with a stone or cement block since the latter was too heavy for him to lift.

He claimed that he “tried hitting Captain Mahama” with a cement block, but he was unable to raise it.

Appiah Kubi, the sixth accused, responded, “I didn’t act together with the other accused, nor did we plan to cause harm to Major Mahama,” when it was finally alleged against him by the prosecution that he conspired with other accused individuals to intentionally harm Captain Mahama, which led to his death.

The accused further claimed to the judge that Major Mahama struck him with the stick because he was “weak” at the time.

The audio-visual evidence from the crime site, which showed the accused and others attacking the deceased soldier, was reportedly played in open court while the sixth accused recognized himself and the role he performed, according to Murtala Inusah, Legal Affairs Reporter for EIB Network.

The case before Justice Mariama Owusu, a Supreme Court Justice who also serves as a judge on the High Court, has been postponed until March 27, 2023, so that the seven accused who have already mounted the witness stand can continue with his Chief Testimony (testimony).

Supposed homicide

On May 29, 2017, a young military officer named Major Mahama was slain in the Central Region’s Denkyira Obuasi.

He was allegedly murdered while out for a morning stroll that took him to Denkyira Obuasi.

On numerous social media sites, a video depicting his alleged lynching went viral, shocking the general public.

William Baah is one of fourteen defendants on trial in connection with the death of the military officer.

Together with them are Michael Anim, Akwasi Baah, Kwame Tuffour, Joseph Appiah Kubi, Bernard Asamoah, often known as Daddy, Abortion, and Kofi Nyarko.

The remaining individuals are Bismark Abanga, Emmanuel Badu, Akwasi Baah, Charles Kwaning, John Bosie, Bismark Donkor, and Kwadwo Anim.

They have all entered not guilty pleas to accusations that range from murder to conspiracy to commit murder and aiding and abetting murder.

Facts

According to evidence given by the prosecution, Major Mahama was in charge of a military unit stationed at Diaso in the Central Region’s Upper Denkyira West District to monitor illegal mining activity.

On May 29, 2017, around eight in the morning, Major Mahama left his detachment’s base for a 20-kilometer jog while carrying his sidearm and dressed in civilian clothing.

The military officer arrived at Denkyira Obuasi’s outskirts at 9:25 a.m., where several women were hawking food along the route.

While interacting with the women, he even purchased some snails, which he then left in their care to be picked up when he got back from his jog.

The woman from whom he had purchased the snails, along with a few others, noticed his sidearm tucked to his waist as he took cash out of his pocket to pay for the snails.

Soon after he left, one of the women called Denkyira Obuasi, an assemblywoman, to report what they had observed.

The prosecution claimed that the assembly member “mobilized the accused persons and others, some of whom are now at large, to attack the military officer” without independently checking the information.

According to the report, the crowd encountered Major Mahama close to the Denkyira Obuasi cemetery and “attacked him with weapons like as clubs, cement blocks, and machetes, killed him, and burned a section of his body” without giving him a chance to identify himself or give an explanation.