The Ahanta West Police Command has arrested six persons in connection with the burning death of one Isaac Ansah, 60, at Achonwa, Ahanta West in the Western Region.
The sad incident which occurred on Thursday, June 27, 2024, follows mob action which ensued after a witch doctor in Achonwa reported the late Mr Isaac Ansah to elders in the town that Mr Ansah had presented 14 people from the community for murder.
The late Mr Ansah had already been jailed for more than two years for allegedly causing psychological death to residents.
Frank Eshun, nephew of the late Mr Ansah, told Channel One News that the six arrested include the head caretaker of the community, Nana Ojandi, MP Godfred Cudjoe, a medicine man priest, a fisherman chief and two others.
Elaborating further on the incident, Eshun said the mob action which led to his uncle’s untimely death occurred hours after an inconclusive meeting between his uncle and town elders when some irate residents tried to burn him alive.
“The chief (interim chief) and councillors met with members of the community and had a big meeting to decide what to do about my uncle. They also called a witch doctor to tell them what happened, where he told them that my uncle had written the names of 14 people and that they should be killed,” he said.
“So, when they called my uncle, he told them that the reason he sent the names to the fetish priests was rather to soften their minds and enable them to return to the community because they had already been banished from the community for an incident that happened about two years ago.
“The priest did not tell them to kill anyone, he just changed his mind and forgot about the issue and allowed him to go back to his community and do his work. They never listened to him so the youths of the community came together and quickly captured him, tied him with ropes, pelted him with stones and finally burned him to death with used car tyres and petrol,” he said.
He said his uncle’s tragic murder has left his family shattered and he wants justice.
“It is painful. When I went there and saw my uncle’s body, I saw dogs and birds eating the body and since then I have not been able to eat anything. It is very sad. These people need to be prosecuted because if something like this happens, you should not use the law as you please. There is a law in this country and everyone must abide by the law. So we are begging the state to prosecute them,” he said.
The body of the late Isaac Ansah, who died aged 60, has been sent to the mortuary for autopsy and his family said they hope he will be laid to rest in peace.