WOMAN, 30, FLEES AFTER SLASHING RIVAL, 4 OTHERS (Page 34)

Story: Nana Konadu Agyeman, Adesewase.

ADASAWASE, a farming community near Anyinam in the Eastern Region, has witnessed a gory scene on Wednesday when a 30-year-old woman, in a fit of jealousy, inflicted machete wounds on her rival and her daughter, who is six months pregnant.
Abena Opokua, the suspect, who was said to be paying frequent visits to Akosua Effah, a 40-year-old food vendor, the victim, and inviting out her 45-year-old boyfriend, Stephen Glover, a farmer, at odd hours, used a machete to slash Akosua’s head, other parts of her body as well as those of her daughter, Dorcas, 20.
Opokua also inflicted deep cuts on three other persons, namely Nana Kwame, 25, Kwabena Appeagyei, 18, and Glover who went to the rescue of the victims and went into hiding in a cocoa plantation in the area.
So far, all the victims, who were sent to the Enyiesi Government Hospital and the Anyinam Health Centre, have been treated and discharged.
The acting Anyinam District Police Commander, DSP Theophilus T. Nartey, said the police heard about the incident on a private local radio station around 7p.m., and a team of policemen were sent to the scene. They met Akosua and Dorcas, oranges seller, bleeding profusely and took them to the Anyinam Health Centre, where they were treated and discharged.
   Mr Nartey said the frequent visits by Opokua to Akosua’s house around 10 p.m and inviting Glover out made Akosua suspicious of the motive behind the suspect’s visits.
   Akosua, therefore, reported Opokua to her mother, Mama Yaa Baby, to advise her to put a stop to the visits to the house.
   This, DSP Nartey said, did not go down well with Opokua, who went to explain to Akosua that she only went to her house to retrieve a ¢3.5 million debt Glover owed her.
     The police commander said Opokua did not meet Akosua in her house, but picked a quarrel with Dorcas after which she assaulted her and threw the oranges she was selling onto the ground.
   Opokua, not satisfied with her action, went for a machete and returned to Akosua’s house and slashed Akosua and Dorcas’ heads and other parts of the body. She also slashed three men who tried to rescue Akosua and Dorcas and eventually fled the scene.
    The Anyinam police commander stated that with support from the Sanahene of the area, the youth were immediately mobilised to comb the area for the suspect, but could not find her.
He said the police were still searching for her to face the law.