The year 2012 appears to have begun very badly for the citizens of Kumawu resident in France. A Ghanaian retiree husband shuttling between France and Ghana has administered fatal punches to his wife of about thirty years. The late wife was one Adwoa Boatemaa from Kumawu in the Ashanti region but resident in Sarcelles, a suburb of Paris in France, for nearly thirty years. This incident took place on Sunday, 8th January 2012.

I understand the couple had purchased a flat in a tower block in Sarcelles. It occurred that the Local Council (La Marie, in French) had lately earmarked the building for demolition. The Council offered the couple the option of taking 100,000 Euros or a new flat elsewhere in Sarcelles. They were given time to muse over the proposal. After a lengthy thoughtful deliberation between the couple, they mutually settled for a new flat. They communicated their final decision to the Council (La Marie de Sarcelles). A few days after informing La Marie of their final decision to go for a new flat, the husband changed his mind. He had preferred the cash to a new flat.

The husband then asked the wife to proceed to La Marie to effect a change of decision, as had come up. The wife refused and insisted they went by the decision already communicated to La Marie or else the man himself notifies La Marie about his new decision without her getting involved. Subsequent upon the wife's refusal to have anything doing with the husband's sudden change of mind, the man started beating her up almost everyday at any least opportunity without any provocation by the wife.

The wife was a renowned hairdresser and had her own Hair and beauty salon in Paris. She was a hard working person doing morning and evening cleaning job in addition to her full time salon job. In effect, she was bringing in more money than the husband was. She was respectful to the husband onto death despite being the higher fee earner. She was a quiet person, very unusual of Kumawu women.

The husband as usual brought up the subject of taking the money instead of a new flat on that fateful Sunday. The wife insisted she preferred the flat and would have nothing doing with passing any contrary information to La Marie. The man was angered. He beat her and in the process, the woman suddenly crouched on the floor. The man left her to proceed to the bedroom to have his siesta. When he woke up, he found the woman still in the position as he had left her to go to bed. He rushed to her aid only to discover that she was gone. His wildest frivolous dream of getting easy money to go and spend with his secret younger sweetheart back home in Ghana has turned into his worst nightmare. I understand he has a woman with a love child in Ghana hence his insistence to go for the money instead of a new apartment.

The man is now under arrest assisting the police with their investigations into her death. The police have boarded up their apartment in Sarcelles and the family moved out. She left behind about three or four children and her husband.

Madam Adwoa Boatemaa hailed from the house just behind that tall storey building by the junction to Tweneboa Kodua Secondary School when coming from Kumawu Zongo. Her senior brother was one Aduuna who attended and completed Kumawu Presbyterian Middle School in 1972 or 1973. The late Aduuna moved to Obuasi as a Cocoa purchasing officer. He became very rich. He died about a year ago. Boatemaa's mother was a very beautiful quiet woman same as her daughter. The mum passed a few years ago.

A sister from the same house gave birth but one day she threatened to kill the child and then herself. Truly, as threatened, the child died a few days later and she poisoned herself. As I write, a nice woman from the house has gone mental and is walking up and down the streets of Kumawum. Adwoa Boatemaa, the pillar of the house and a person on whose shoulder her brothers and sisters cried is no more. What is really going on?

I will admonish all wife-beaters to learn a bitter lesson from this incident to help them change for the better.

May her soul rest in perfect peace. My condolences to the entire bereaved family with all Kumawuman residents in France inclusive.

John Fosu