Thirty-four persons have officially been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and murder in the gruesome killing of a Ghanaian military officer by some residents of Denkyira-Obuasi last week.
The charges were on Monday evening read to the 34 accused persons, made up of four women and two nursing mothers, who were arrested across the country within the last week.
Their plea was, however, reserved by prosecutors who prayed the District Court in Accra to remand the accused persons into lawful custody to enable investigations to be concluded in the case.
Proceedings have been adjourned to June 21.
Prosecutors led by George Ameke told the court Monday that the 34 persons on May 29, 2017 at Denkyira Obuasi in the Upper Denkyira West District of the Central Region, “did act together with others at large with a common purpose to commit crime to wit murder”
This brings to 41, the total number of persons who have been put before court in connection with the murder of Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama whose death has reignited calls for laws on mob injustice that has assumed an alarming rate in recent times.
Seven of them, including the assembly member said to be the mastermind of the heinous crime were last Thursday remanded by the District Court in Cape Coast.
READ: Capt. Mahama’s ‘killers’ charged with murder, remanded
They were provisionally charged for murder and their plea has also been reserved.
Captain Mahama, a member of the 5th Infantry of the Ghana Armed Forces, was jogging at Denkyira-Obuasi at about 8:30am on May 29 when he was lynched and a part of his body set ablaze, the Military High Command confirmed in a statement issued last Tuesday.
His body was filled with marks of assault including multiple deep cut wounds on the head and a partially burnt body, the Police have said.
A swoop in the town Tuesday by a team of Police and military personnel led to the rounding up of a total of 166 people made up of 80 women and 86 men.
They screened after which five of them were arrested. Two others, including the assembly member, later turned themselves in to the Police Wednesday evening.
Some other suspects who attempted to flee the town have since been arrested across the country and according to the Police, there are currently 44 people being held in connection with the murder of which 41 have been remanded.
Police say more suspects are being sought after to stand trial in the case.
By Stephen Kwabena Effah|3news.com|Ghana