The Ahanta West Municipal Police Command has arrested six persons for setting a 60-year-old man ablaze at Achonwa in the Ahanta West Municipality of the Western Region.
The deceased, Isaac Ansah, was stoned to death before his body was set ablaze by the youth after a fetish priest had accused him of sending him the names of some persons to kill them for him.
The tragic event, according to Accra-based Channel One TV occurred Thursday, June 27, 2024, following the fetish priest’s report to elders of the community that the octogenarian had presented names of 14 persons to him to kill them for sacrifice.
The man, according to reports, had earlier been accused of being responsible for spiritually causing the death of one person in the community over two years ago.
According to a nephew of the deceased, Frank Eshun, among the six persons arrested for the killing of the man include Nana Ojandi, the Caretaker Chief, Godfred Cudjoe, the Assemblyman, the Fetish Priest, the Chief Fisherman, and two others.
Mr. Eshun explained the youth attacked his uncle and killed him after a meeting between him and the elders ended inconclusively, prompting an anger among the residents who attacked and killed him.
“The Chief (Caretaker Chief) and the Assemblyman had a grand durbar to meet the community members to decide what they have to do with my uncle. They also called the Fetish Priest to narrate what had happened. That was where he said my uncle had written some 14 names for him to kill them.
“So when they called my uncle, he told them that the names he sent to the Fetish Priest were rather to soften their heart to allow him to come back to the community as he was already serving banishment from the community for an incident that happened some two years ago.
“It was just for the Priest to change their mind to forget the issue to allow him to come back to the community to do his work but he didn’t tell him to kill anyone. They didn’t listen to him at all and so the youth of the community gathered, immediately captured him, tied him with ropes, stoned him and finally burnt him with used car tyres and petrol,” he narrated.
Eshun added that the family is seeking justice for the murder of his uncle, recounting the trauma he has been through after seeing his uncle’s body being eaten by birds and dogs.
“It’s painful. When I went there and saw the remains of my uncle, I have not been able to eat anything since, because I saw dogs and birds eating his remains. So I feel very bad. We need the prosecution of those people because if this even happened, it is not for you to use the law anyhow you want. There is law in the country and everyone must abide by the law. So we are pleading with the state to prosecute them,“ he called.
The body of 60-year-old Isaac Ansah has been taken to the mortuary for an autopsy, and his family is hopeful that they can soon lay him to rest peacefully.
