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Accra: Mr Yaw Dankwah,the defence counsel in the murder case of former MP for Abuakwa North, says Daniel Asiedu, the first accused person, did not kill the former legislator. He alleged that the former MP was killed by three police impersonators, who visited the home of the deceased. The counsel claimed the impersonators after committing the heinous crime vanished into thin air. He said that was confirmed by the evidence of one Apraku, the security guard who reported the matter to the police via phone calls. The counsel argued that the late MP was tall and well built and that Asiedu could not overpower him. 'It was the three impersonating officers who overpowered the MP and killed him at his residence … Asiedu cannot overpower the MP physically. 'Your story suggesting that it was Daniel Asiedu who killed the MP was a fabrication and full of lies.' However, ASP Augustine Nkrumah, the case investigator answering questions before the court, said it was Daniel Asiedu the first accused person, who k illed the former MP. According to the investigator, Asiedu was 'a terrible person' and capable of killing the man. The case investigator took the court through how some weapons used in committing the crime were retrieved from Asiedu. He also told the court how a T-shirt and a handkerchief all soaked with blood and a knife were found at the scene and Asiedu admitted that those items were for him. ASP Nkrumah said Asiedu's girlfriend, one Janet Kyeraa, also confirmed to the police that the T-shirt and handkerchief belonged to Aseidu. The investigator said Janet Kyeraa also informed the Police that Asiedu after the incident gave her a knife stained with blood to clean. The investigator told the court Asiedu's slippers were also retrieved from the crime scene and Aseidu also identified a catapult and cutter found at the scene. 'During investigations the knife Asiedu used in stabbing the deceased to death was traced to Asiedu's room at Agbogbloshie in Accra. 'When the knife was shown to the first a ccused person (Asiedu) he admitted to having used that knife on the deceased. Asiedu said he was held by the deceased and he left him helpless in his room,' ASP Nkrumah. The case investigator said, in the deceased's room, Asiedu asked for forgiveness for the offence he had committed. The investigator told the court that Asiedu demonstrated to the investigation team how he went to the crime scene and how he perpetrated the crime. 'My Lord, the exhibits found in the deceased room, Asiedu admitted sending them there.' Daniel Asiedu is standing trial for his involvement in the murder of a former MP for Abuakwa North, J.B Danquah Adu at his residence in February 2016. He has been charged with murder and robbery. Asiedu is jointly being held for allegedly conspiring with Vincent Bossu to rob the MP. They have denied the charges before a seven-member jury. The court presided over by Mrs. Justice Lydia Osei Marfo has remanded the accused persons to reappear on February 28, 2024 Source: Ghana News A gency

Accra: Mr Yaw Dankwah,the defence counsel in the murder case of former MP for Abuakwa North, says Daniel Asiedu, the first accused person, did not kill the former legislator. He alleged that the former MP was killed by three police impersonators, who visited the home of the deceased. The counsel claimed the impersonators after committing the heinous crime vanished into thin air. He said that was confirmed by the evidence of one Apraku, the security guard who reported the matter to the police via phone calls. The counsel argued that the late MP was tall and well built and that Asiedu could not overpower him. 'It was the three impersonating officers who overpowered the MP and killed him at his residence … Asiedu cannot overpower the MP physically. 'Your story suggesting that it was Daniel Asiedu who killed the MP was a fabrication and full of lies.' However, ASP Augustine Nkrumah, the case investigator answering questions before the court, said it was Daniel Asiedu the first accused person, who k illed the former MP. According to the investigator, Asiedu was 'a terrible person' and capable of killing the man. The case investigator took the court through how some weapons used in committing the crime were retrieved from Asiedu. He also told the court how a T-shirt and a handkerchief all soaked with blood and a knife were found at the scene and Asiedu admitted that those items were for him. ASP Nkrumah said Asiedu's girlfriend, one Janet Kyeraa, also confirmed to the police that the T-shirt and handkerchief belonged to Aseidu. The investigator said Janet Kyeraa also informed the Police that Asiedu after the incident gave her a knife stained with blood to clean. The investigator told the court Asiedu's slippers were also retrieved from the crime scene and Aseidu also identified a catapult and cutter found at the scene. 'During investigations the knife Asiedu used in stabbing the deceased to death was traced to Asiedu's room at Agbogbloshie in Accra. 'When the knife was shown to the first a ccused person (Asiedu) he admitted to having used that knife on the deceased. Asiedu said he was held by the deceased and he left him helpless in his room,' ASP Nkrumah. The case investigator said, in the deceased's room, Asiedu asked for forgiveness for the offence he had committed. The investigator told the court that Asiedu demonstrated to the investigation team how he went to the crime scene and how he perpetrated the crime. 'My Lord, the exhibits found in the deceased room, Asiedu admitted sending them there.' Daniel Asiedu is standing trial for his involvement in the murder of a former MP for Abuakwa North, J.B Danquah Adu at his residence in February 2016. He has been charged with murder and robbery. Asiedu is jointly being held for allegedly conspiring with Vincent Bossu to rob the MP. They have denied the charges before a seven-member jury. The court presided over by Mrs. Justice Lydia Osei Marfo has remanded the accused persons to reappear on February 28, 2024 Source: Ghana News A gency

Accra: Residents of Jedua-Kese, a farming community in the Amenfi Central District of the Western Region, have expressed concern over the poor state of infrastructure in the community. Nana Kofi Yeboah II, the community chief, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that the area lacked some basic social amenities to improve the socio-economic wellbeing of the people. The roads linking other towns and communities like Agona Amenfi, Ankaasie, Wratrem, Juabo and Jukwaa had become very bad making commuting within those areas difficult, which needed serious repairs, he said. 'When it gets so bad, we normally use communal labour to fix the stretch that links us to Wassa Akropong,' Nana Yeboah. He said there were some broken down culverts on the stretch and the dust posed serious health hazards to residents. 'The poor nature of the road results in motor accidents, which lead to loss of lives through motor accidents,' he said. Nana Yeboah said one of the classrooms of the only Junior High School in th e community had collapsed with students currently learning in the dilapidated structure. The situation was negatively affecting teaching and learning, while posing threats to the health of students and teachers, he said. 'Through a self-help project, we are constructing a three-unit classroom block where the District Chief Executive has supported us with 100 bags of cement, and the Member of Parliament also assisting with 50 bags of cement and 20 packets of roofing sheets, but we need extra supports to complete the school block for the students,' the chief said. The community also lacked a well-resourced health care facility 'as the CHIP Compound we have here is at the residence of our former Assembly Member with his family,' he said. 'This does not help to promote quality health care delivery in the community'. He, therefore, appealed to the Government through the Amenfi Central District Assembly to go to their aid and help to resolve all the infrastructural challenges to improve the living standards of the people. Source: Ghana News Agency

Tema: Mr Edward Kareweh, the General Secretary of Ghana Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU), has said they expect President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to update the nation on the government's contribution to irrigation in agriculture during the State of the Nation Address (SONA). Mr Kareweh said, 'We need him to tell us how much irrigation systems have been added to the agricultural sector in the face of this growing climate change.' In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), he said the current climatic condition had a huge impact on the agricultural sector, which must not be taken for granted. He expressed regret that the Pwalugu multipurpose dam had not seen any improvement despite the government's promise to revamp it to help solve some needs of the sector. Mr Kareweh said it was sad that the inadequacy of irrigation dams and non-completion of the government's 'one village, one dam' policy, negatively impacted farming activities in the country, especially during the dry season. He mentioned the issue of 'galamsey' as a major contributor to the challenges of agriculture in Ghana, and the government's inability to deal with it was very disappointing. 'Galamsey is not only about lands that are lying fallow; it is about lands with crops and trees on them, which are all being destroyed,' he said. Source: Ghana News Agency

A workshop dubbed: 'Managing the Agropastoral Sector in the Cross-border Area between Burkina Faso and Ghana: Harmonising Mechanisms and Tools', has been held to discuss the best way to manage cross-border movement of people and herds from Burkina Faso to Ghana. The two-day workshop, which ended in Tamale, was attended by key stakeholders in the livestock sector from Burkina Faso, including local assemblies from Burkina Faso and Ghana, whose territories receive herders on daily basis, representatives from the Fulbe community, traditional authorities, whose communities receive herders amongst others. It was organised as part of the phase three of the Supporting Agropastoralism to Reinforce Social Cohesion in the cross-border territories of Ghana - Burkina Faso (SAPSOC) project, which is being implemented by Acting for Life, RECOPA and Changing Lives in Innovative Partnerships (CLIP) with support from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office using the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund. Mr Lukman Yussif, Director, CLIP, speaking at the workshop, said although the movement of people and herders to Ghana presented some challenges to the country, there was need to put in place mechanisms to take advantage of the opportunities it presented as well. Over the past five years the security situation in Mali and Burkina Faso has destabilised the whole West African region particularly the cross-border zone between the Sahel and coastal countries. The expansion of extremist armed groups maximising on pre-existing local tensions has created an environment of fear and mistrust amongst communities, who have been pushed into urban zones or further south over the border into neighbouring countries in search of refuge. The past six months have been marked by a further decline in security particularly in the Eastern Region in Burkina Faso where the livestock market at Fada N'Gourma is currently saturated by local communities destocking their herds. The cross-border zone between Burkina Faso and northern Ghana has b ecome critical as the closure of borders with Bénin and Togo has forced herders and refugees to concentrate on Ghana as a safe space to provide vital resources for their livestock and lodging for their families away from threats and attacks. It was against this background that the workshop was organised to assess the general insecurity situation, especially in the Sahelian region Mr Yussif said, 'We are enjoying peace and in relation to transhumance, Ghana as a country, we face a huge deficit in our meat requirements; majority of the livestock is from the Sahelian countries.' He added that 'And so, if there is any opportunity that brings more livestock from Sahel into Ghana, we need to look at the economic aspect; we know that as they come in, they bring quality breeds that we can use to improve our local breeds.' He said, 'Again, there is evidence in some key areas for example in the Salaga area where the presence of transhumance has resulted in the creation of a livestock market and we know that where t here is a livestock market, there is a huge employment opportunity because of the numerous people engaged in the livestock value chain.' He said there was need for the country to put in place the relevant internal structures and mechanisms to better accommodate transhumance herders and to prepare the ground in a way that they lived peacefully with host communities. Amir Osman Bin Ahmed, National Vice President of Fulbe Chiefs and Member, Ghana Cattle Ranching Committee, said the influx of people and herders from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to Ghana had advantages and disadvantages expressing need for authorities to put in place measures to identify the herders and owners of the cattle and the quantities of cattle brought into the country. He said, 'If we do our work well, the assemblies can gain more in terms of revenue; their coming will lead to opening of more markets, increase meat, and milk supply in the country.' Annabelle Powell, Programme Manager of Acting for Life, a French organisation, also rei terated the need to maximise the economic opportunities presented by the movement of herders to districts in the country. Source: Ghana News Agency