Major Mahama murder trial: Defence counsel cross-examines 10 prosecution witness

Mr George Bernard Shaw, a Defence Counsel in the trial involving the alleged murderers of the late Major Maxwell Mahama, has described the 10th Prosecution Witness as not being truthful to the court.

Mr Shaw told an Accra High Court trying the accused on Tuesday that the witness, Chief Inspector Daniel Yeboah was not truthful to the court, because his evidence was not a reflection of the contents of the Police Station Diary, but the witness disagreed.

Chief Inspector Yeboah was answering questions under cross-examination by Mr Shaw, Counsel for William Baah, an Assembly member in the area.

Mr Shaw suggested to the witness that his client did not tell him, he mobilized some men with arms, but the witness disagreed.

Defence Counsel again indicated that his client Baah told the Chief Inspector and was recorded in the Station Diary as “l told the police that l got two men to accompany me find out what the man with the gun is doing,” but the witness disagreed with that assertions.

The Counsel further pointed out to the witness that the accused person did not say he mobilized armed men to confront the deceased but Chief Inspector Yeboah emphasized that was what Baah said and that they were armed.

“That is not correct, because what you are saying does not reflect on the Station Diary at the Police Station,” Mr Shaw stated, but the witness insisted he was right.

Mr Shaw suggested to the witness that his client did not tell him the officer, the time he received the call from the food sellers that they saw a deceased with a gun, but he disagreed.

Asked whether he had dealt with the accused person in his official capacity before, the witness answered in the affirmative.

The Counsel requested from the witness, what he and his men did when they got to the scene, the witness said the Police took the body to the mortuary.

Mr Shaw suggested to the witness that he had before him potential offenders and he made no efforts to speak to them on the cause of the crime, but the Chief Inspector said, that was why they invited the community leaders later for questioning.

“You and the other Police officers let the deceased down in a massive way,” Counsel stated, but the witness said that was not true.

Defence Counsel again said the witness had the opportunity to fish out the perpetrators at the scene, but Chief Inspector Yeboah said the case was investigated by the Homicide Department of the Ghana Police Service.

Mr Shaw said they have missed the vital details and information from the scene to get down to the bottom of the case but the witness said it was not true.

He said their inaction at the scene has led to the arrest of the innocent accused persons, but Mr Yeboah, who is also the Station Officer, said it was the video that exposed those who were charged before the court.

At the last adjourned date, the 10th Prosecution Witness told the court that when he and his men got to the scene of the crime “we saw him naked with the head damaged and body partly burnt.”

Mr Yeboah who was describing the corpse of the late Major Mahama said from there, he asked his men to photograph the body, which was later sent to the mortuary at Dunkwa-on-offin.

The witness has been a Police officer for the past 34 years.

Fourteen persons are standing trial at an Accra High Court over the killing of Major Mahama, who was an officer of the 5th Infantry Battalion, at Burma Camp.

The late Major was on duty at Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region when on May 29, 2017 some residents allegedly mistook him for an armed robber and lynched him.

The mob had ignored his persistent plea that he was an officer of the Ghana Armed Forces.

The accused are William Baah, an Assembly member of Denkyira Obuasi, Bernard Asamoah alias Daddy, Kofi Nyame a.k.a Abortion, Akwasi Boah,Kwame Tuffour, Joseph Appiah Kubi, Michael Anim and Bismarck Donkor.

Others are John Bosie, Akwasi Baah, Charles Kwaning, Emmanuel Badu, Bismarck Abanga and Kwadwo Anima.

The Court presided over by Justice Mariama Owusu adjourned the case to Tuesday June 11 for the State to present its 11th witness.

Source: GNA