Cleaner Confesses His Involvement In Murder Of Prof Benneh

A cleaner, who was working for the late law lecturer, Professor Emmanuel Yaw Benneh, has confessed his involvement in the murder of his boss.

James Nana Womba contended that he acted together with one Opambour Agya Badu Nkansah, a resident of Ashiaman and two others, currently at large.

During sitting at the Kaneshie District Court on Wednesday, Mrs Eleanor Kakra Barnes–Botwe, a Circuit Court Judge, sitting with additional responsibility as a Magistrate, discharged Christian Pobee, 32, another cleaner; Isaac Botchwey, 34, a houseboy and Adams Mensah Mansur, 52, a gardener.

This was after the prosecution, Inspector Ebenezer Teye-Okuffo, had told the court that the Police did not find anything incriminating the three accused persons.

Based on that prosecution substituted the old charge sheet with a new one.

Womba and Badu have now been charged with conspiracy to commit crime, to wit murder and murder.

The court preserved their pleas. It however read out and explained the charges to the two accused persons.

Womba and Badu, who were without legal representation, have been remanded into Police custody by the court to reappear on October 14, 2020.

It further issued a bench warrant to effect the arrest of two other accomplices who are said to be at large.

Inspector Teye-Okuffo earlier prayed the court to remand Womba and Badu into police custody to enable them to assist in investigations.

He said Akosua Benneh, the elder sister of the deceased, was the complainant while the accused persons were domestic staff of the late Prof Benneh at Adjiriganor, near East Legon.

Prosecution said on September 13, this year, the body of the 66-year-old lecturer was found in a pool of blood in a supine position with his hand and legs tied.

It said the deceased had been pulled from his veranda to his bedroom and had multiple body cuts with a piece of rug in his mouth, while his body was in a state of decomposition.

Prosecution said the body of the lecturer had since been deposited at the Police Hospital Morgue in Accra.

He said on September 13 investigations led to the arrest of Womba, who confessed to the crime and mentioned Badu and others as his accomplices.

On September 21 a post mortem conducted by one Dr Owusu Afriyie, a Pathologist at the Police Hospital, revealed the cause of death to include strangulation and suspected homicide.

Police intelligence led to the arrest of Badu while efforts are underway to apprehend the other accomplices.