“I know I will die and when I die it was Gregory and Asabke who killed me by pouring a substance on me.” According to Hajia Zainabu Adams, the wife of the former Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Alhaji Adams Mahama, these were the final words of her husband before he died.
Hajia Zainabu made the comments yesterday during her evidence-in-chief (E-I-C) at the trial of Gregory Afoko, the man indicted for the murder of Alhaji Mahama, at the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court.
Afoko, together with a man identified as Asabke Alangdi, who is now at large, was alleged to have poured a substance suspected to be acid on the former regional chairman of the NPP in front of his residence in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region.
Afoko has consistently maintained his innocence and has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
“Take care of my family”
Led by the prosecutor, a Chief State Attorney, Mr Matthew Amponsah, Hajia Zainabu also informed the court, presided over by Mr Justice Lawrence L. Mensah, that her husband was not optimistic about surviving the alleged acid attack.
According to her, Alhaji Mahama, while on admission, told Tofiq Mutallah, a friend, to take care of his family because he (Alhaji Mahama) was going to die.
“I will die so when I die take care of my children and wife,” Hajia Zainabu quoted her husband.
Hajia Zainabu, the first prosecuting witness, started her E-I-C on July 19, 2016.
The process has dragged on partly because of the medical condition of the accused person who was granted permission by the courts on two occasions to seek medical treatment.
Also, Hajia Zainubu, on certain occasions, could not make it to the court from her base in Bolgatanga because of ill health.
Mr Matthew Amponsah, however, informed the court that the wife of the deceased would finish with her E-I-C today.
Facts
According to the facts of the case, on May 14, 2015, Gregory’s brother, Mr Paul Afoko, and Mr Kwabena Agyepong, then National Chairman and General Secretary, both of the NPP, arrived in Bolgatanga for a meeting.
Mahama, the prosecution claimed, organised some thugs to violently attack the two, scuttling the planned meeting at the Azumsolon Guest House, while accusing them of campaigning against the flag-bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and also not notifying him (Mahama) of the meeting.
The situation, according to the prosecution, was later brought under control by the police.
Gregory, who was then upset, confronted Mahama but was chased away by some thugs.
Another group
The court was also told that Gregory and one Asabke Alangdi formed another youth group in their bid to protect persons perceived to be against Nana Akufo-Addo.
The prosecution said Gregory and Alangdi held a series of meetings with the youth and on May 20, 2015, they laid ambush at Mahama’s residence with a substance suspected to be acid.
“Mahama returned home around 11:10 p.m. in his pick-up and as soon as he parked the vehicle in front of his house, Gregory and Asabke went close and signalled him to roll down the glass.”
“Mahama identified the suspects to be party members and rolled down the glass to talk to them. The suspects poured a substance, suspected to be acid, on his head, face and other parts of his body and fled on a motorbike.
“Mahama started screaming for help and his wife, Hajia Zainabu, went to his aid and managed to bring him out of the vehicle,” the prosecution said.
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