A 39-year-old machine operator, alleged to have issued a threat, through audio, to kill Nana Nteboah Prah IV, the Divisional Chief of Himan Traditional Council, has appeared before the Tarkwa Circuit Court.

Kwabena Ankemah, charged with threat of death, pleaded not guilty.

The court presided over by Madam Hathie Ama Manu, remanded Ankemah into prison custody to re-appear on May 4, 2023.

Superintendent Juliana Essel-Dadzie, prosecuting, told the court that the complainant, Nana Prah, is the Divisional Chief of Himan Traditional Council, while the accused is a staff of Sankofa Mining Company.

She said the suspect and complainant both reside at Himan-Prestea in the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality of the Western Region.

On March 28, 2023, at about 1619 hours, the complainant received a WhatsApp voice audio from the accused, threatening to behead him with a cutlass anywhere he met him.

Ankemah reiterated in the audio that he meant every word and would not relent on his intended actions, the prosecutor said, adding that he was not scared of being arrested by the police.

Superintendent Essel-Dadzie said the complainant, after listening to the audio, became alarmed and reported the case to the Prestea police on March 30, 2023, for investigation.

The accused person was arrested on the same day for questioning and a search conducted in his room led to the recovery of a new hammer and a chisel.

The audio recording has also been transcribed onto a USB flash drive to serve as evidence, the prosecution said.

The accused person, in his caution statement, initially denied any knowledge of the audio but later confessed before an independent witness that he did the recording at a drinking spot at Ankobra, a suburb of Prestea.