Mr Daniel Tetteh Quao, the National Best Teacher for the year 2000, was allegedly brutally assaulted and had his prize car damaged in the process when he went to a hotel to have drinks with three of his former female students at Awutu Obrachire.

Consequently, two fetish priests, Nana Kwame, 26, and his African-American friend, who has adopted the Ghanaian name of Kwesi Nkrumah, 23, have appeared before the Agona Swedru Circuit Court, charged with assault and causing unlawful damage.

The two pleaded not guilty and the judge, Mr Paul Kwesi Richardson, granted them ?50 million bail with a surety each. A third person, Kobina Osae, 32, a linquist, failed to appear before the court and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

Inspector H.N. Cofie of the Swedru Divisional Police Command, told the court that, Mr Quao, currently a second-year student of the University of Winneba, was a former teacher of Obrachire JSS, while Nana Kwame and Nkrumah are fetish priests at Adeiso, with Osae as their linquist.

He said on June 15, at about 7 pm, Mr Quao went to a hotel at Obrachire in the company of three girls who were his former students.

He said after having some drinks, they were about to leave when one Vivian, who had come to the hotel in the company of Nana Kwame, Nkrumah and Osae, left the trio and joined the three girls in Mr Quao?s car.

Inspector Cofie said the three girls ordered Vivian to get out of the car on the grounds that she did not come with them, but Vivian refused, saying the car belonged to her former teacher so she had every right to board it. When Mr Quao came over and saw Vivian on the car, he also ordered her out but she did not budge.

The prosecutor said Mr Quao started his car engine and was about to move away when Nana Kwame and Osae pounced on him and started beating him mercilessly without any provocation.

The three girls and a lady at the hotel shouted for help and the hotel keeper came out in a bid to rescue Mr Quao from his assailants but he could ? Continued from Page 1 not. Inspector Cofie said the incident attracted a bigger crowd later to the scene but before then, Nkrumah picked a piece of cement block with which he smashed the rear windshield of the car and again dented its right front door with his shoes

The prosecutor said Mr Quao managed to free himself from his assailants and went into hiding in the bush while a Good Samaritan went to the Mankrong Junction Police Station to lodge a complaint.

He said the crowd that was attracted to the scene was scared off by the trio who pulled out knives, making it impossible for them to effect their arrest. However, on reaching the nearby Bebianiha village, the inhabitants pounced on Nana Kwame and Nkrumah and also assaulted them.

Inspector Cofie said but for the timely arrival of the Bawjiase Police who rushed to the scene on a tip-off, Nana Kwame and Nkrumah would have been killed. Nkrumah, according to the prosecutor, fell unconscious as a result and he was rushed to the Swedru Government Hospital for treatment.

Nana Kwame and Osae were later arrested and issued with medical forms to attend hospital after which they were charged with the offences.