Correspondence from the Eastern Region:

The family of a retired timber jack operator assumed to be in his 60s was struck with horror Sunday morning as they witnessed his horrendous murder of the former at the hands of his nephew.

Nayo Annor assumed to be in his 20s and said to be ‘mentally sick’ is in the custody of the Nuaso police for allegedly butchering his old visually impaired uncle, identified as Kwaku Emmanuel with a cutlass.

Though it’s unclear what led to the dastardly act around 9 am on Sunday, August 13, 2023, the deceased was eating when the suspect pounced on him with a machete and inflicted wounds to his neck and other parts of the body, killing him on the spot.

Detailing the distressing incident to GhanaWeb, Gladys Yohuno, an eyewitness who resides in the house disclosed that her attention was drawn to the scene by an unusual sound from the verandah where the old man sat.

“I was washing when I heard someone hitting someone with something. I turned and saw Narh butchering an old man with a cutlass,” she narrated.

Horrified by the spectacle, Gladys said her screams drew neighbours to the scene who managed to disarm the killer, albeit too late.

The eyewitness who could not tell what led to the actions of the suspect however believed he might have been infuriated by the victim’s inability to meet a request he made from him. She said: “I think he was demanding some money from him for meals and he didn’t have.”

Tetteh Padi, also an occupant of the house who heard Gladys’ screams for help, managed to rush there where he succeeded in disarming Nayo from inflicting further wounds on Emmanuel.

He recounted what happened: “I was buying some ingredients in front of the house when I heard shouts. I rushed there and found the suspect murdering the man so I confronted him and threw him down and took the cutlass from him but he had already killed him.”

Some enraged residents attempted lynching the suspect but he was saved by other onlookers who whisked him away to the police station located less than 200 meters away.

She said the entire household had been thrown into a state of fear following the incident.

Police subsequently visited the scene where they retrieved the murder weapon, took pictures, and gathered other relevant forensic details.

The body of the retired jack operator has been deposited at the Atua Government Hospital for preservation and autopsy.

GhanaWeb in a July 18, 2023 publication titled, ‘Public express concern over increasing number of mentally deranged persons on the streets,’ highlighted the concerns as expressed by members of the public over the threats posed by mad men and women to society.

According to the respondents, such persons ought to the taken off the streets and communities and housed in psychiatric hospitals to prevent any harm they might pose to society.

Chief of Tesanya-Nuaso, Nene Kwesi Afro Titriku in an interview with GhanaWeb, reiterated this call.

The traditional leader describing such persons as “dangerous to society,” noted that they could also end up being lynched by members of the community over incidents like this.

“Everyone who is detected to be mentally unstable should be sent to the mental hospital for peace to prevail in the community and the entire country,” he advised.