Stephen Sowah Chaway, counsel for Gregory Afoko has raised serious questions about police investigators’ preservation of critical evidence in the trial of his client and another.
According to him, a medical doctor who performed autopsy on the mortal remains of Adams Mahama indicated that the deceased did not sustain any injuries on his feet.Meanwhile, the latter’s shoes were soaked with acid.
Mr Chaway told the trial court that it is impossible for the late Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Adams Mahama, not to sustain any burns on his feet and yet have his shoes soaked with acid.
The counsel added that the deceased feet would have equally burnt like the upper part of his body, due to an acid bath.
This, he said, could only mean that there was a challenge with the transportation of the exhibits from Bolgatanga to Tamale and then to Accra.
The counsel was making his final submission before an Accra High Court trying Gregory Afoko and AsabkaAlange on murder and conspiracy on Tuesday.
The court and the jury were further told that on the day that the regional chairman was allegedly killed, Afoko, Asabke and others earlier held a meeting and it was evident that discussion at the said meeting only centred on the formation of a youth wing of the party at the region, as well as handling of some NPP flags.
He added that there was a prior meeting to this subsequent one, which took place at Lovers Inn.
Thus, the previous meeting was held at Central Hotel and that the agenda of all these meetings was towards the formation of a youth wing.
Mr Chaway, therefore, questioned how the formation of a youth wing could translate into Gregory harbouring malicious objective against the deceased.
Although the prosecution has alleged that there was some misgivings between the deceased and Paul Afoko, senior brother of Gregory Afoko, it still cannot justify the accusation.
Furthermore, the counsel wondered why doctors and nurses who attended to the deceased were not invited to testify in the case.
Meanwhile, prosecution witnesses had testified in the court that the deceased was attended to by three or so health officers who put him on drip.
Additionally, he said while the lead Investigator told the court that no fingerprint test was conducted on a cup and gallon allegedly used to bath the deceased with the acid, Afoko has given contrary evidence that some of the police officers told him that the fingerprints on the cup doesn’t match his.
He urged the jury that the only logical conclusion of the case should be acquittal and discharge, particularlyAfoko, after having spent eight years in custody.
Background
Gregory Afoko and AsabkaAlange were charged for having a hand in the gruesome killing of Adams Mahama in 2015. The deceased died out of severe burns from acid bath he received while he was in his car, in front of his house.
