Murder of Tema Port Manager: Court awaits test results

The Head of the DNA Laboratory at the Forensic Science Laboratory of the Ghana Police Service (GPS), Dr Kofi Agyapong Afrifa, yesterday informed the Tema Development Corporation District Court that the laboratory would furnish the court with test results of samples.

He said his outfit would give to the court results of test of samples taken from the crime scene of Mrs Josephine Asante, Marketing and Public Affairs Manager of Tema Port, who was murdered.

Dr Afrifa explained that the facility was due for routine annual maintenance and restocking of reagents.

He said though the GPS had paid for the cost of work involved, the technical experts from abroad had notified the service that they could not work on April 15 to 19 as expected, due to circumstances beyond their control.

Dr Afrifa was subpoenaed by the court on March 14 to appear on the March 28, to explain delays in furnishing the court with examination results of the samples taken from the crime scene.

Dr Afrifa could not tell whether samples from the two suspects in the case, Christian Agyei, a house boy, and Amos Apeku, driver of the deceased, had been taken at the laboratory.

He said his office received a fact sheet on January 28 to determine whether liquid and blood found on the deceased were spermatozoa or her (deceased) blood.

The presiding judge, Madam Akosua Anokyewaa Agyapong adjourned the case to April 18.

Mr Isaac Eshun, counsel for Apeku and Mr Baba Jamal, counsel for Agyei expressed concern that the prosecution had not been honest with the court.

The court heard that at about 3:30am Kwaku Adutwum-Ameyaw, son of the deceased, was awoken by unusual screaming from his mother’s room,  and when he went to ascertain what the problem was, he met Agyei in the hall, which was unusual but he (son) went back and slept. 

Prosecution said Adjei later informed Adutwum-Ameyaw that he saw a male adult wearing black shirt and jeans trousers running out of the house through the main gate.

The court heard that the deceased’s son got frightened and went and slept in the boys’ quarters, where her houseboy lives.

Amos Apeku who works at the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority is the official driver of the deceased.

On January 12, Kwaku Adutwum-Ameyaw was awaken up by unusual screaming from his mother’s room and he got up to ascertain what the problem was and he met Agyei in the hall which was unusual and went back to sleep.

 Later Agyei called the deceased’s son and told him that he saw a figure of a male adult wearing black shirt and jeans trousers running out of the house through the main gate.

Deceased’s son became frightened and went to sleep in the boy’s quarters with Agyei. 

Prosecution said when Agyei and Adutwum-Ameyaw woke up in the morning, they realised that as at 8:30am the deceased was not seen and they decided to find out what the problem was, but the door was locked.

The deceased’s son later peeped through the window and saw her mother lying in a pool of blood on the floor and alerted Agyei. 

FROM GODFRED BLAY GIBBAH, TEMA.