Two cousins remanded over death of roommate

Two cousins, who allegedly beat their roommate at Ho Sabong Zongo to death after accusing him of stealing their money, were arraigned before a Ho Magistrate Court last Friday charged with murder.

They are Abubakar Munkaila, 23, student and first accused and Abdul Kadir, 22, driver.

The court presided over by Albert Annor Owusu was told that the homicidal act took place at the Zongo at about 10 p.m. on August 5 this year.

The prosecution said the accused pointed at the deceased as the one who took a money box from their room earlier in the day.

Later, when the first accused spotted the deceased near a pub close to the Zongo, he pounced on him and subjected him to severe beatings in a bid to extract a confession from him.

At the pub, the first accused informed the second accused of what had happened.

Soon after that, the first accused was informed on the phone that the deceased was fleeing the Zongo with his belongings. Subsequently, the two went after him, caught up with him and started beating him.

The court was told that while the first accused used his bare hands to beat the deceased, the second accused used a belt to maul him. They then left him unconscious, bleeding profusely from his mouth and nostrils, the prosecution added.

The court was further told two men from the Zongo rushed the deceased to the Ho Teaching Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The hospital alerted the police, leading to the arrest of the accused persons the next day, the court heard. The prosecution said the two men in their caution statements admitted to beating the deceased.

The court remanded them in prison custody until October 15. The body of the deceased, which was identified as Marwan Alhassan, has since been buried.

Source: Graphic.com