FETISH PRIEST MURDERS COLLEAGUE (PAGE 23, MIRROR)

From Nana Konadu Agyeman, Koforidua

A 35-year-old fetish priest has been remanded in prison custody by the Koforidua Circuit Court on a charge of murder.
The accused, Okomfo Kwaku Opoku, was said to have thrown a knife at his junior colleague in the course of performing a ritual to demonstrate his mystical prowess.
However, the knife got stuck in the abdomen of his colleague, leading to his untimely death.
The incident occurred at a shrine at Asamang-Tamfoe, near Anyinam in the Eastern Region.
Okomfo Opoku, who was celebrating an Akwasidae festival at his shrine with three of his colleagues, had attempted to overwhelm them with that display, but luck was not on his side.
His plea has not been taken and would re-appear before the court on July 7, 2009.
Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Moses Ayao of the Koforidua Police Headquarters told the court presided over by Ms Wilhelmina Hammond that on June 19, 2009, about 6.30 a.m, Okomfo Opoku was celebrating the festival with his three other fetish colleagues at his shrine.
He said while his subjects were singing and dancing to his honour, the suspect alleged that he had performed so many miracles which the gods he served aided him to accomplish.
According to the prosecutor, while the suspect was dancing to the tune of the music about 2.30 p.m, he asked the deceased, who was also his linguist, to go into the inner chamber of the shrine and bring him a hat, an order the victim obliged to.
The prosecutor stated that when the victim came out of the room and handed over the hat, the suspect, who was holding a knife and a whisk threw the knife, the hat and the whisk at him to catch, but the victim could not catch the items.
In the process, the knife got stuck into his abdomen, after which the victim himself removed the knife from his abdomen, the prosecutor added.
The deceased, who sustained a deep cut and was rushed to the Kyebi Government Hospital for treatment, however, died before arrival at the health facility.
A report was, therefore, made to the police who arrested the fetish priest.