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Three separate shocking murder incidents have been recorded in Accra and Koforidua in the Eastern Region, with the stabbing to death of a young doctor and a man believed to be a New Patriotic Party (NPP) member, in what has been described as contract killings. Dr Desmond Kabah, son of NPP Member of Parliament for Chiana Paga in the Upper East Region Alowe Leo Kabah, was found dead in his room at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on Sunday. A prominent young businessman at Koforidua in the Eastern Region, Obeng Owusu-Ansah and a soldier were killed by alleged armed robbers on Sunday night at Nsuobeto, a few kilometers from Koforidua on the Mamfe-Koforidua road. News about the incidents threw the Koforidua municipality into a state of shock yesterday, as the miscreants robbed their victims and held them hostage for more than 30 minutes before the police could get to the scene at about 10:00pm. Owusu-Ansah, an alumnus of the University of Cape Coast, and a very prominent member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), was the project manager of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) in the Eastern Region. Circumstances surrounding the incident had sparked furious debates, with some claiming that his death was �a contract killing� because he frequently openly criticized the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and President Atta Mills. The murdered soldier was identified as WOI Amoako who was on a commercial mini bus dressed in uniform, and was said to be travelling from Koforidua to Accra. He was also shot in the head by the suspected armed robbers and died on the spot. According to an eyewitness who was travelling with Owusu-Ansah in his BMW X-3 4-wheel drive with registration number GC 6886-11, they were returning from Apostle Mission Church, a popular charismatic church at Mamfe/Lartey, after a three-day retreat. Reports suggested that the deceased had a call from a friend was looking to pay some money to him before he left the church premises. The eyewitness, who said he was a personal friend of Owusu-Ansah�s, noted that they were following a commercial Nissan mini bus and when they got to Nsuobeto, a small hamlet where local gin (akpeteshie) was distilled, several armed persons suspected to be Fulanis had blocked the road, using huge firewood deposited at the roadside for the distilling of the local gin. According to the eyewitness, who was sitting right behind Owusu-Ansah at the back seat, as soon as the mini bus stopped, Owusu-Ansah also stopped, not knowing what was happening. He therefore started grumbling and decided to open his door to find out what was happening. As soon as he opened his gate, the armed robbers, who were approaching his car, shot him in the forehead, blowing his brains out. According to the eyewitness, the robbers, numbering about seven, were believed to be of Fulani descent. He told DAILY GUIDE that when they shot Owusu-Ansah in the head, his blood splashed in his shirt and he pretended he was also hit by the bullet and feigned death. He said all that he heard was �kai� �kai�, with some of the robbers speaking broken Twi language. According to the travelling companion, his wife, who was seated at the front passenger seat, was nearly raped but the robbers realised she was in her menstrual period. He said all the passengers on the commercial vehicle were subjected to severe beatings before they were robbed of all their valuables. �The police arrived at the scene several minutes after we had suffered that ordeal and by the time they came, the suspects had run into the bush,� he said. At the time DAILY GUIDE visited the regional police headquarters yesterday morning, the police hierarchy was locked up in a crisis meeting over the incident. Meanwhile, some members of the public have criticised the police over their slow response to such situations, saying the police have not been very proactive as regards security concerns of the travelling public. DAILY GUIDE however found out that the police in Koforidua and its immediate environs lacked patrol vehicles and other logistics to keep effective security on the road.