Gregory Afoko, who is standing trial for allegedly murdering former New Patriotic Party Upper Regional Chairman, Adams Mahama, has shared a story of how his 97-year-old father died.
According to him, his father died two months after his arrest, because he was the person who administered medicine to his ‘old boy’.
He said this while being cross-examined by the Chief State Attorney (CSA) Marina Appiah Opare, after opening his defence on Monday, January 16, 2023.
Mr Afoko told the General Jurisdiction 11 of the High Court, presided over by Her Ladyship Efua Merley Wood, that his father was suffering from prostate cancer and broken hip.
The first accused said his father, a former Member of the Council of State, was put on medication and he has to ensure that his prescriptions were administered to him religiously, as well as cleaning him.
A practice, Mr Afoko said, he did from dusk to dawn for over a year.
But Mrs Opare said it was an afterthought, as the accused in his statement before the court stated that he went out to meet the second accused person, AsabkeAlangdi, around 6:00pm on that fateful day that Adams Mahama met his untimely death.
She argued that it could not have been true that he was the only one taking care of his sick father since there were other family members.
The first accused denied the assertion and explained that the responsibility of caring for his father was shared between him and his eldest brother.
These are some few questions and answers from the cross-examination;
Q: …You want this court to believe that since your father became bedridden, you were at home 24 hours, and seven days in a week every day?
A. My lady, I will say ‘Yes’ and ‘No’. Yes, from 6:00am to 6:00pm, I’m always home with him. And the ‘No’ is that after 6:00pm l also take 30 minutes fresh air…outside and come back. Because he was a former member of the Council of State, visitors do come to the house, so he needs to be clean all the time so that visitors do not meet him in a mess. The last visit I can recall was the president and the vice president, together with the deceased, came to the house and I received them with my father.
Q. I’m putting it to you that what you have just told the court of you being at home from 6am to 6pm is an afterthought?
A. My lady, that is not true.
Q. I’m also putting it to you that you did not leave home at 6:00pm as you have indicated in your evidence?
A. My lady, it is not true. I left home at 6:30pm after my dad has taken his supper.
A. From your own statement, Exhibit A, You said that you left home at 5:00pm?
A. My lady, I will say it is not correct because when I was arrested I have sight problem, I have no glasses on. The policeman, Inspector Blay, who took my statement, wrote my statement because I could not see. After he finished writing the statement, he read over and I will sign.
I recall the time again when my father finish taking supper, apart from the broken hip, he has prostrate cancer, there is a medication he has to take two hours after meal or one hour before meal. So after he finished eating, the last medication I have to give him was in two hours time. I watched my time and left.
Q. I’m putting it to you that your explanation about taking of your statement is an afterthought and it is only meant to throw dust into the eyes of the court?
A. My lady it is not true
Q. It been almost eight years since you were arrested, is that not so?
A. Yes my lord
Q. You have your reading glasses since the 20th of May, 2015?
A. No.
Q. So you want to tell this honourable court that since May 2015, you have not been able to read any documents?
A. I had my 1st reading glass in 2016 and subsequently I had this one in 2018, after I had my surgery.
Q. So you will agree with me that before PW7, Charles Blay, came to testify in this court, you had your reading glasses?
A. Yes, I had both the sight and reading.
Q. I’m putting it to you that you didn’t object to the tendering of your statement, Exhibit A, by Charles Blay, PW7?
A. Yes, I did not object because he wrote it.
Q. Neither did you confront PW7 with any of the things he said in your statement, Exhibit A?
A. My lady, I knew I will be given opportunity to explain myself. So I could not confront him.
Q. Now, I’m putting it to you that you could not have left home at 6:30pm, again because in Exhibit A, you said around 6:00pm you met A2, Baba Ayaa, to hand over two party flags to them.
A. My lady, because I am administering medicine to my sick father, I go out with a watch, I check to be able to do exactly that. So I don’t miss time.
Q. Again you were not…you took the two flags from your house to be given to A2?
A. As I earlier on stated that it has been eight long years and out of the eight long years, I spent two years and eight months in solitary confinement at the BNI and since it is eight years since I was arrested, you can see I have grey hair and I was 50 years, but now, 58 years, it is not everything I will remember.
Q. You said in Exhibit A that you left home at 5:00pm to meet you senior brother, David Afoko, who was the constituency chairman for Builsa West of the NPP to collect the two flags.
A. My lady, as I have earlier on stated it has been long time but what…we don’t have Builsa West, we have Builsa North and South
Q. At the time you were leaving home on the 20th of May 2015, where was your brother Daniel Afoko?
A. My brother was in the house. It is a family house and my priority was only on my father. I was not concentrating on anybody except my father.
Q. So you can’t tell the court whether or not he was at home at the time?
A. No, I can’t tell.
Q. What about your brother’s wife, was she at home by the time you left?
A. I will say yes, because she prepared dinner and served my dad and I fed him.
Q. Your wife was also at home. Is that not so?
A. No
Q. In your absence, in any point in time, your brother or his wife or your wife could feed your father?
A. I will say that we divided the work, his medication, feeding or cleaning were done by me. My brother’s wife was in charge of washing his clothes, bedspread and cooking.
Q. I’m also putting it to you that in your absence in any point in time, your brother, his wife or your wife administers to your father his medication?
A. That is not correct. Nobody in the family knows my father’s medication except me.
He was 96 years when he broke his hips. I brought him to Oyarifa, FOCOS hospital. I was with him when he turned 97 years of age. Because he didn’t know the medication he will be taking and at what time, when I was arrested, two months later, the old man passed away.
Q. Because of the condition of your father, there was always someone at home taking care of him even in your absence. I’m putting that to you
A. That is not true.
