Crime & Punishment of Monday, 2 November 2015

Source: Daily Guide

Togolese arrested over attempted murder

Komi Konou Komi Konou

The Police in Keta have arrested a Togolese for allegedly asking a fetish priest at Abhor in the Volta Region to kill a Ghanaian domiciled in Cote d’Ivoire whom he owes money.

The suspect, Komi Konou, who is a herbalist in Togo, was said to have collected an amount of 500,000 CFA from the Ghanaian under the pretext of curing his ailing father.

But the suspect, after collecting the money, failed to honour his side of the agreement and sent the victim to a fetish priest to be killed in order to stop him from demanding for a refund of his money.

Chief Superintendent Alex K. Wowolo, Commander of the Keta Divisional Police Command, who confirmed the arrest to DAILY GUIDE, explained that about two months ago, the victim approached the suspect to help him get herbal medicine to cure his father’s ailment.

The suspect, the commander noted, promised to help the victim and succeeded in collecting an amount of 500,000 CFA for the work but failed to do the work. As a result, the victim started demanding for his money and threatened to report him to the police.

He said the suspect, sensing danger, promised the victim that he would take him to another place for the medicine to be prepared for him.

Chief Superintendent Wowolo stated that the “Suspect then went to a fetish priest through the help of an accomplice, who is on the run, and demanded that the fetish priest kill the victim in order for him to stop worry him anymore for his money. The fetish priest also charged the suspect GHc50,000 to do the killing of the victim.”

The suspect then paid 100,000 CFA, promising to pay the remaining balance when the work was completed, the police commander added.

He continued that the suspect was asked to return the subsequent day, by which time the fetish priest would have finished the killing assignment, adding, “The fetish priest opted to report the matter to the chief of the area and a police case was made to that effect.”

Chief Superintendent Wowolo mentioned that on October 28, 2015 the suspect was asked to come to Aflao in the Volta Region where he was arrested by the police but denied the offense in his cautioned statements to the police.

He said the suspect will be arraigned before court after investigations.