2 TaTU students who murdered pastor sentenced to death

The two students of the Tamale Technical University (TaTU) who murdered the head Pastor of the End Time Believers Bible Fellowship in Tamale have been sentenced to death by the Tamale High Court.

The convicts, Kwame Dogyi and Obio Akwasi who are cousins murdered 64-year-old Pastor Ebenezer Ocran at his residence at Kumboyili, near Tamale on the Tamale-Kumbungu road on November 9, 2017.

They took away his Toyota Highlander vehicle which Dogyi gave to a sprayer at the Tamale Industrial area to sell at GH¢10,000.

The Tamale High Court presided over by Mr Justice Edward Apenkwah sentenced the two to death by hanging on Monday July 30, 2018.

This was after the jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty of conspiracy to commit crime, to wit murder and murder.

The Tamale District Court One presided over by Mr.  Anthony Asaah on Wednesday, April 11, 2018 committed Dogyi Kwame 28, and Akwasi Obio, 21 who are both students of TaTU to stand trial for the murder of Pastor Ebenezer Ocran.

The hearing of the case at the High Court presided over by Mr.  Justice Edward Apenkwa began on Tuesday April 17, 2018 until they were finally sentenced Monday, July 30,2018. The trial lasted four months.

During the trial the prosecution called nine witnesses but the convicts called no witness and at the end of the trial the jury returned a verdict of guilty of conspiracy to commit crime and murder.

Facts

The facts of the case as presented in court by the prosecutor, A Principal State Attorney, Mr. Salia Abdul Quddus were that, on
November 9, 2017, the two convicts around 11am attacked Pastor Ocran at Kumbuyili, near Malshegu on the Tamale -Kumbungu road.

They stabbed him with a knife in the chest and later hit him with a pestle in the head killing him instantly and locked the body in a room.

The prosecution said, the two after the act took away a Samsung Galaxy phone, an amount of GH₵200 and drove away a Toyota Highlander vehicle with registration number GN 1763-14 belonging to the deceased.

At about 10.00pm the same day, Ben Asamoah, an assistant pastor of the church informed the police that he visited the head pastor and found him dead in his house and his Toyota Highlander vehicle was missing.

On November 10, 2017 at about 3pm, the police in the Northern region had information that the vehicle had been sent to the Tamale Industrial Area for re-spraying and thereafter for sale at a cost of GH₵10,000.

The police feigned interest in buying the car and through investigations, Kwame Dogyi, a third-year Engineering student of TaTU was arrested and he mentioned his cousin, Akwasi Obio also a third-year student of the same university as his accomplice.

By: Samuel Duodo (graphiconline.com)