Akwatia Royal Family Petitions Chief Justice �Over Delay In Murder Case Trial

The Royal Family of Akwatia in the Eastern region has petitioned the Chief Justice, Her Lordship, Justice Georgina Theodora wood to investigate the reasons behind delays in prosecuting the persons behind the alleged murder of their Royal, the Late Kwadwo Boakye. The Family noted that it�s been more than three years since Kwadwo Boakye was murdered in cold blood and two years since the case was sent to the circuit court in Accra but proceedings are yet to start. According to the family of the late Kwadwo Boakye, the case has been postponed for about twenty (20) times, yet proceedings have not started. The situation is creating inconvenience for them based on the fact that they travel all the way from Akwatia to Accra to attend court. The family has also accused the prosecutor handling the case for failing to be present in court and switching off his mobile phone when its time for this case to be heard. �When the case started, the prosecutor said the docket which was sent to the Attorney General�s Department was missing. It took a publication in the New Crusading Guide to retrieve the alleged missing docket. Last week he came to court to announce that the Minister of Justice had authorized him to transfer the case to Akwatia when in actual fact nothing of a sort had been stated or documented by the Attorney General�s Department. Currently, it is alleged that some people are working behind the scenes to change the charge sheet from murder to manslaughter against the orders of the Attorney General. It is also alleged that that money is changing hands in a bid to deny the family of Kwadwo Boakye justice, it is said that �Justice delayed is Justice denied. For this reason we don�t want the fairness and justice in this particular case to be delayed and denied �. Stated Robert Bosompem, spokesperson of the family. �Interestingly, the suspect in the alleged murder of Kwadwo Boakye, That�s Justice Quaye Frimpong, has been granted bail in mysterious circumstances and is walking freely on the streets of Accra and Akwatia. The witnesses in the case are all ready to testify and they come to court all the time but the case does not commence�, he stated. �We want the Chief Justice to investigate all this issues and bring the offenders or the offender to book. We also plead with the chief Justice to ensure that Judges handling the case handle it with diligence. They should fast track the process of starting the case after more than two years. We seek openness fairness and justice in this process �, Robert Bosompem, spokes person for the family stated. Usually, accused persons in murder cases are not granted bail until the Police have concluded their investigation. However, in this particular case Quaye Frimpong, the accused, was released from Police custody months before investigations concluded According to the prosecutor, the deceased and the accused person were friends until a one day the accused allegedly came to his house at Akyem Osenase near Akwatia to request that he accompanied him to a spot to have a drink on 30th of October 2011. According to Reports, Quaye Frimpong, also a sub chief at the Akwatia Hene�s Palace, allegedly threatened the he is going to use his Motorbike to kill the deceased. Kwadwo Boakye when a quarrel ensued between them. As a result, the deceased decided to report the case to the Osenase Police. On his way to the Police station Quaye Frimpong, chased Boakye with a motorbike and knocked him down injuring him severely in the process. Kwadwo Boakye was pronounced dead shortly after admission at the St Dominic Hospital at Akwatia. The case was thereafter reported to the Akyem Osenase Police by the family of the deceased and Quaye Frimpong was subsequently arrested and charged with murder. He was remanded in Police custody and subsequently released. The case with docket number CC/23/12 is still pending before an Accra circuit court 1 Behind the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum. According to records at the Kade Magistrate court in the eastern region, A month before his murder, Kwadwo Boakye who was a sub chief at the Akwatia hene�s Palace was arrested by the Police on the orders of the Akwatia Hene, Osabarima Kofi Boateng III, for allegedly stealing his (Chiefs) money, a sum of GHC1, 500, he was charged for stealing and made to pay the money. It was based on this trends that forced him to relocate to Akyem Osenase from Akwatia.