Farmer, Dog Buried Alive

The insistence of a 55-year-old farmer, Kwame Frimpong, to slaughter a dog and use its meat to prepare a meal has cost him his life. Six persons, including two women, who allegedly opposed the killing of the anima and murdered Frimpong in cold blood, have been remanded by the Kade District Magistrate�s Court, presided over by Mr. Abdul Magid Iliasu, to reappear on October 23, 2012. Their pleas were, however, not taken. They are Kwaku Owusu (alias Ateiku), 41, a pal, wine tapper; Kwasi Amankwa, 42, a farm; Eric Appiah, 42, a carpenter; Kwame Nyarko Gyamfi, 29, a bicycle repairer; Olivia Ayivor, 30, a farmer and Ama Alice, 22, unemployed. Frimpong is said to have been buried together with the dog in a shallow trench. The facts of the case, as presented by Inspector Ambrose Akpabley, are that on October 3, 2012, Frimpong�s wife, Salome Ntiriwaa, reported to the Asuom Police that her husband had been missing for four days. Ntiriwaa claimed that Frimpong went to farm at Asuom and had not returned after four days. According to the prosecutor, based on the woman�s report, the police mobiles the youth of the town and combed the bush in search of Frimpong. On reaching an Akpeteshie distillery operated by the six accused persons, the police found the deceased�s basket containing foodstuffs and palm fruits but Frimpong could not be found. Suspicious that Owusu, Amankwah, Appiah, Gyamfi, Olivia and Alice might have killed and buried Frimpong, the police intensified their search in the area, as Owusu and Amankwah who were found at the distillery denied any knowledge of Frimpong�s whereabouts. In the courts of their search, the police came across a hole with many houseflies in and around it and so they decided to dig it up to see if Frimpong had been buried in it. True to their suspicion, after digging for a while, they found Frimpong�s shirt in the hole. Owusu then took leave of the police under the pretext of going to bring a pickaxe to facilitate the digging but bolted. In the process of digging the hole, the police saw Frimpong�s hand. Sensing danger that he would be implicated in the murder, Amankwah also took to his heels. The police pursued the two men and managed to arrest them to assist in investigations. During police interrogation, Owusu and Amankwah confessed murdering Frimpong and mentioned Appiah, Nyarko Gyamfi, Olivia and Alice as accomplices, leading to their arrest in their hideouts. The six alleged that Frimpong had gone to the distillery to slaughter their dog for a meal and when they resisted, it developed into a quarrel, in the course of which the pushed Frimpong and the dog into a trench and buried them alive.