Major Maxwell Mahama was brutally lynched in 2017, and one of the 14 people accused of his murder has acknowledged bashing the deceased military officer in the head with a brick during the attack.
But Akwasi Baah testified before the Accra High Court on Tuesday that the deceased soldier was already dead when he struck his head with the cement block. Akwasi Baah was led in as evidence by his lawyer to submit his evidence-in-chief.
According to a Dailyguidenetwork.com report seen by GhanaWeb, the accused told the court that he was not there when the crowd assaulted Major Mahama but that he subsequently came to the scene after he had been battered to death. The accused were reportedly led by George Bernard Shaw.
The suspect said that he had been the victim of a robbery the day before the event and that when he arrived at the scene of the lynching, he noticed that the deceased was sporting a boot that matched one of his attackers' outfits from the robbery he had endured.
On May 28, 2017, while travelling from Dunkwa-on-Offin to Obuasi, Akwasi Baah testified in court that a group of armed robbers ambushed the vehicle he was riding in.
He said that armed bandits had blocked the road and kidnapped the automobile after ordering the occupants to get out. The thieves then searched every passenger inside the car before fleeing.
He described how the next day, when he was at home, he heard a bang and learned that an armed robber had wounded a young guy in the foot and that the man had been transported to the clinic. As a result, he made the decision to go to the clinic to see whether the man was a relative.
After learning that the young guy was not connected to him, he left the clinic. Ten minutes after leaving, he learned that an armed robber had been slain, so he hurried to the scene of the crime.
The suspect said that he saw the dead wearing the same boots and that he also spotted the same revolver that was used to rob him the day before at the location.
This prompted him to grab a brick and strike the dead person, he recalled.
Frances Mullen Ansah, the chief state attorney who oversaw the case throughout the suspect's cross-examination, played again in court a video of the horrific lynching of the victim.
When the prosecution questioned Akwasi Baah, he admitted to smashing the late Major Mahama's skull while he was still lying motionless.
The suspect denied intentionally smashing the soldier's skull but acknowledged that he had to carry the block with two hands because of its weight.
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