The Tema Regional Police Command is investigating the circumstances which led to the shooting of a 34 year old technician at Shai Hills in the Dangbe East district of the Greater Accra region.

The deceased, Micheal Kwabena Boakye, who returned from the United Kingdom a few months ago, was allegedly shot in the stomach by one Ralph Amegbonu, a landowner who had sold a piece of land to him, resulting instantly in his death.

The family of the deceased suspected that Ralph took the deceased to the spot and murdered him in cold blood and then deposited his body at the morgue  of the Tema General hospital where he changed his name and age.

Ralph, who has been arrested and assisting the police in their investigations, maintained that the case was purely an accident.

Mr. Samuel Ayi, a barber at Tema Community One and a friend of the deceased, who witnessed the incident on August 31, 2009, said in the morning of that  fateful day, while on his way to buy a reload card, he met Ralph who asked him to call Michael to accompany him to inspect the land for which he paid while in the UK four years ago.

Ayi said after loading his phone, he called Michael, parked his car and the three of them entered Ralph’s Nissan Pathfinder 4X4 vehicle with registration number GR 2727 Y and drove to the Akosombo road and entered the forest.

Ayi alleged that at a spot in the forest, Ralph suddenly stopped and pulled something like a small bag from under the driver’s seat, opened it and pulled a pistol out of the bag.

He said Ralph fired a shot into the air and then there was another shot after which he heard Michael shouting, "Oh Ralph why did you do that."

Ayi said he raised his head and saw Michael clutching his stomach with blood oozing out and Ralph holding the pistol so he took to his heels and ran through the bush to the main road where he picked a taxi home.

He said he narrated the incident to the deceased’s family members who took him to the main harbour police station where he lodged a complaint.

Three policemen were detailed to accompany Ayi to the scene but on reaching the Afienya police station, they spotted Ralph’s vehicle parked there so they entered the station only to here that Ralph had reported that he accidentally shot Michael as he was putting away his new pistol after firing some shots.

The body was then conveyed to the Tema General hospital where Ralph gave the deceased’s name as John Armah, aged 45.

When the family heard about the incident and rushed to the hospital , they could not locate the body because of the false name Ralph had given.

For his part, the younger brother of the deceased, Mr. Richmond Boakye, said the deceased had been living in the UK for four years before returning home to settle down.

He said in 2005 his brother sent him GHC 1000 to be given to Ralph through one Nashiru for a piece of land at Dawenya.

According to him, after receiving the money,Ralph called Michael again that he should bring additional GHC 200 to enable him to buy sand and stone in order to secure the land for him and he complied.

Richmond said after paying the money, he asked Nashiru and Ralph to take him to the land but they kept on postponing the date.

He said since the deceased arrived in the country about eight months ago, all efforts to get Ralph and Nashiru to take him to the land failed until that fateful day when he met his untimely death while on his way to look at the land.

A pathologist who conducted the autopsy at the Korle Bu Teaching hospital in Accra on September 3, this year, gave the cause of death as ruptured liver as a result of high velocity gunshot injury.

When the Tema Regional Police were contacted, they confirmed the incident and said investigations were ongoing.

They said the suspect had already made his first appearance in court and had been remanded in custody to appear at a  later date.

D.Graphic/AMA