The Wa High Court in the Upper West Region has sentenced a 43-year-old farmer, Andrews Bayor Yuoni, to death by hanging for murdering a co-tenant
The verdict was delivered after three hours of deliberations by a seven-member jury that unanimously found Yuoni guilty of killing Jonas Kwame Yeleliere, a co-tenant, at Daffiama.
According to the prosecution, the convict, Yuoni, on returning from his farm in the afternoon on May 31, 2011 found Yeleliere, who was a co-tenant, pruning a mango tree on a compound they both shared.
He questioned Yeleliere about the reasons for his action.
Quarrel This degenerated into a quarrel where Yeleliere attacked the convict with the machete he was using to prune the tree.
Yuoni, however, succeeded in dispossessing Yeleliere of the machete which he in turn used to inflict wounds on him, killing him instantly.
The convict claimed his action was in self-defence.
"From the nature of the wounds l sustained, some spirit spoke to me to defend myself otherwise Yeleliere will kill me. I became dizzy but managed to kick the machete out of his hands. I picked the same machete to inflict several wounds on him and killed him on the spot. It was out of provocation. I did not mean to kill Yeleliere," the convict told the court.
After the incident, the convict was found unconscious lying beside the deceased at the scene. They were both taken to the Wa Municipal Hospital where Yeleliere was pronounced dead, while Yuoni was treated and remanded in custody at the Wa Prison.
Medical report A medical report from the Wa Government Hospital confirmed that "the deceased died from severe blood loss from multiple wounds and fractures”.
It further stated that the nature of injuries suggested the use of multiple instruments, including sharp and blunt cutting instruments, as well as heavy blunt objects.
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