Magistrate unhappy about lunatic on remand for 7 years
A Magistrate says it is embarrassing for a mentally challenged man to be kept on remand for seven years without trial.
Ms Arit Nsemoh expressed regret over the plight of Ebenezer Essilfie when he appeared before him on the charge of murder.
The magistrate has, therefore, ordered the Office of the Attorney General to come out with the advice on Essilfie so that he could know his fate.
Essilfie, unemployed is being held for murdering Rose Tackie, his grandmother with a grinding stone at Dansoman in Accra on 21 July 2011.
Since 2011, the Police have been waiting for the advice from the Attorney General Office but that has not been forth coming. The matter was initially put before the James Town District Court but referred to the current court in June 2017.
Due to the plight of the accused, the court ordered the Police to seek medical treatment for the accused. At the last court sitting it took the intervention of the District court and a relative for the medical report to be released to the accused.
The medical report on the accused could not be released from the Police hospital as the hospital was demanding a little over GH 400 cedis as fees.
The facts before the court were that Alex Tackie, the complainant is an auto mechanic residing at Dansoman with the accused.
According to prosecution Essilfie is a mental patient and he is also the grandson of Rose Tackie, the deceased. Rose and Essilfie lived in a two bedroom self-contained house at Dansoman.
On April 29, 2011, Rose went to the Police station and lodged a threatening case to the Police against Essilfie. Later Rose came back to inform the Police that her grandson was a lunatic and had been undergoing treatment at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital hence they should assist her send her to the hospital.
Prosecution said Essilfie escaped from the house and returned on July 21, 2011 at about 2:30 am and marched into the room of his grandmother who was then fast asleep and hit her with a grinding stone.
Rose bled profusely from her left eye brow. Essilfie then washed the grinding stone and hid same under a table in the kitchen.
Essilfie went to inform the complainant about his conduct.
The complainant proceeded to the scene only to find Rose dead and lying in a pool of blood.
The complainant called the Police Patrol Team who arrested the accused and sent him to the Dansoman Police station.
Source: GNA