The prime suspect involved in the murder of a student of the Konongo Odumase Senior High School in the Ashanti Region has been remanded into a juvenile cell by the Konongo District Court.
The court however discharged the four other students who were provisionally charged with abetment of crime, following an advice received by the police from the Attorney General’s (AG) office via the prosecution. The development means the prime suspect would stand trial at the High Court based on the evidence obtained from the police.
“The advice came from the AG’s office after analyzing the total evidence before it based on the facts and the law, it came out with its findings and the findings was that the five elements of murder has been established against the first accused person”, the lead prosecutor in the case Chief Superintendent Kofi Blagodzi told the media after an in-camera hearing.
“With the others the evidence was not too cogent but we can use them as prosecution witnesses and so for the meantime we can discharge them…If there are fresh evidence that is linked to the accused persons in the course of the trial and until the final determination of the matter, the police can still prosecute them”, he said.
The Court presided over by Her Worship, Joyce Bamfo, also directed the Ghana Education Service to re-integrate the four juveniles into the school system.
But the Headteacher of the Konongo-Odumase Senior High School, Dr. Kwaku Baah, said the students will be relocated to different schools for their safety and also to avoid stigma.
“I made a submission to Her Worship that relocating them back to Konongo Odumase Senior High School would be a recipe for chaos because the case is still fresh in the minds of the students. Then besides the stigma around them we felt that the boys must be relocated to another school and I have spoken to the Regional Director of Education, who is more than prepared to relocate them -if not to one school to other schools -so that they continue with their education”, the Headmaster said.
What happened at Konongo Odumase SHS?
The Police, on November 6, arrested the five students for allegedly stabbing a first-year colleague, Larhan Sam’un, to death.
Larhan , 17, who was a first year gold track student has since been buried according to Islamic customs. His sudden death sparked widespread condemnation from the Ghanaian public including the country’s Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum.
Dr Adutwum said such acts of indiscipline should not be tolerated in the 21st Century, rather, the right environment, devoid of intimidation, should be created for students to perform well academically.
The Education Minister indicated that such acts had led to some students being maimed, citing the recent case at the Konongo Odumase Senior High School where an alleged bullying had led to the death of a student.
Dr Adutwum expressed regret that bullying scenarios had been part of the school culture but the “time has come for us to end this because homo is a thing of the past”.
SOURCE: DAILY MAIL GH
Email Daily Mail GH: stories@dailymailgh.com or
Whatsapp: +233(0)509928122
