Busia�s Tomb Vandalised; Two In Police Grips

Two persons, including a man said to be a pastor, have been arrested for attempting to break into the tomb of Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia, Ghana�s Prime Minister in the Second Republic, at Wenchi in the Brong Ahafo Region. The police say the two suspects were found naked on the tomb of the man who was Ghana�s Premier between 1969 and 1972, early yesterday morning and were whisked into custody. They are Emmanuel Osei Sarpon, the supposed pastor, and Solomon Adu, both 34. The effigy of the late Premier which stood close to the grave was found smeared with blood. It was, however, not immediately known whether it was human blood. There were also fresh cracks on the concrete grave, with some of the tiles removed, suggesting an attempt to break into it. The Wenchi Divisional Police Crime Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mr Vincent Adotey, speaking to the Daily Graphic on phone, said �We are conducting investigations into the matter to get to the bottom of it and take the necessary action.� Giving further details, he said the suspects also broke seven doors in the storey building in which the grave was located. In the building, some electrical appliances were also destroyed. Upon his death in exile in 1978, Dr Busia�s remains were brought home and buried at the Busia Quarters, a cluster of buildings in a plush area on the Akrobi Road in Wenchi. The tomb is located at the forecourt of one of the storey buildings in the area. In the past, people lived in the building, but the police said the building had been unoccupied for some time now. That situation, without doubt, facilitated the entry of the two suspects into the building unnoticed in the early hours of yesterday. Mr Adotey said Dr Busia�s sister, Nana Afia Frema Busia, accompanied by a tenant at the Busia Quarters called Ebenezer Antwi, lodged a complaint with the police at dawn yesterday that they had found two people on the grave. The police sent men to the area, where they found the two suspects naked on the grave and consequently arrested them. On their arrest, the suspects feigned madness. The crime officer stated that investigators were trying to establish the church where Sarpon is the supposed pastor. Born at Wenchi on July 11, 1913, Busia was the eldest of the 13 children of his parents. An extraordinary scholar and statesman, Dr Busia became Prime Minister after the 1969 general election which the Progress Party, of which he was the leader, won. In January 1972, he was overthrown in a coup d��tat led by General I.K. Acheampong. He went into exile and died in 1978.