Jury To Determine Johnson Kombians Fate

A seven member jury is expected on August 19, to determine the fate of Johnson Kombian the farmer and businessman who is accused of killing two police officers in the Northern Region. Kombian is being held for murder and conspiracy to commit crime to wit murder. The decision by the seven member jury would come after the court presided over by Mr Justice Mustapha Habib Logoh had sum up the trial. Last week defence and prosecution took turns to address the court. Defence Mr George Assamaney counsel for Kombian, had argued that the state could not prove that Kombian perpetrated the crime. Defence counsel contended that, the case of prosecution was full of inconsistencies, untruth, that no court could reasonably and safely convict his client. Prosecution led by Mrs. Marina Appiah Opare, a Principal Chief State Attorney had argued that it was Kombian and his accomplice who killed the two police officers and injured another one. The Principal State Attorney noted that evidence adduced by the prosecution was solid and could warrant a court conviction, adding that, the evidence by the witnesses was credible and reliable. �There are no inconsistencies in the evidence of the prosecution witnesses, Corporal Osei Bonsu the surviving Police officer saw Kombian and his accomplice shot at him and his colleagues on that fateful day,� she added. The over one year trial saw prosecution call six witnesses and a defence witness. Kombian, alias Garkum, and his accomplices who are currently on the run, are alleged to have ambushed three policemen on October 17, 2010 and succeeded in killing two of them. The deceased are Constable Prince Agyare and Constable Owusu Frimpong. A third policeman, Corporal Osei Bonsu, survived after sustaining gunshot wounds. Kombian allegedly conspired with his friend, Kofi Naaman, known as Accra Boy, to rob Djato Mathias and then attempted to kill him. He was therefore arrested, tried and sentenced to seven years� imprisonment by the Tamale Circuit Court but he escaped while serving his jail term. Kombian sought refuge at Nakpanduri in the Bunkprugu Yunyoo District of the Northern Region, which happened to be his hometown. On October 17, 2010, the accused person and his accomplices received information that a number of policemen had been detailed to perform duties at the Nakpanduri Scarp. Kombian and his accomplices however ambushed and attacked the three policemen. They allegedly fired gunshots at the deceased policemen who were then on a motorbike. The policemen fell into a 10-metre long valley. The accused person and his group continued to fire sporadically into the valley, with the hope of killing the policemen, who also retaliated with occasional gun fire. After some minutes of firing, Kombian and his gang stopped, and on realising that the gunshots had ended, Agyare and his colleagues mistakenly thought their attackers had left. They, therefore, came out of their hideout and were subjected to more gun fire. Help finally came for Agyare and his colleagues while Kombian and his accomplices bolted. The wounded policemen were conveyed to the Nalerigu Hospital but Agyare was later pronounced dead. Frimpong also died later, while Bonsu was transferred to the Police Hospital in Accra where he was treated and discharged. Kombian escaped to Togo after the incident but he was later picked up by the Togolese authorities and handed over to the Ghanaian authorities.