<<Print>>A complainant of a robbery case currently before an Accra Circuit court, Albert Appiah, has found himself in trouble as the court has advised that an alleged sodomy case concerning him should be lodged at the Police Station for proper investigation to be conducted.
The complainant, Albert Appiah, accused Barri Abu of assaulting and robbing him of GH¢1,650, one Samsung Galaxy S5 and Blackberry Z10 mobile phones for just being a friend of his (Barri Abu) brother. The complainant had earlier told the court that, Barri Abu’s brother was just a friend, but they instead accused him of being a gay, as a result of which they beat him up.
At the initial hearing, Albert Appiah’s alleged gay partner was not present in court and, therefore, the Counsel was asked to present him at the next sitting (yesterday) to testify. The alleged sodomized victim was in court to testify and told the court that, the complainant was indeed his gay partner.
It, however, turned out that the alleged sodomized victim’s testimony in court yesterday went contrary to the complainant’s claim that, he was not just a friend but Albert Appiah was indeed a homosexual with whom he has been having sexual relationship.
The presiding Judge, Francis Obiri, therefore, advised counsel for the witness (alleged sodomized victim) to make a formal complaint at the Police Station for an investigation to be conducted into the alleged sodomy case. The judge also granted a bail to the accused person, Barri Abu.
The accused, who had earlier pleaded not guilty to three charges of conspiracy to commit crime, to wit, causing harm and robbery, was granted bail in the sum of GH¢20,000 with two sureties.
In an interview with The Chronicle, counsel for the accused person, George Asamani intimated that, he will soon pursue that aspect of the case before the appropriate jurisdiction. The case has meanwhile been adjourned to Friday February 27, 2015, for substantive hearing.
FACTS
Briefing the court, Inspector Martin Acheampong, said the complainant, Albert Appiah, is an event organizer who lives at East Legon, a suburb of Accra, whilst accused Baari Abu is a student who lives at Abavana Down, Pig-Farm, also in Accra.
On February 8, 2015, at about 10pm, the complainant visited his friend, one Saleem, who is a brother to the accused Barri Abu. According to him, the complainant and the accused person’s brother were in complainant’s Toyota Corolla Saloon Car with registration No.GR 202-14 having some discussion.
All of a sudden, the accused, together with four other men attacked the complainant in his car, accusing him of being a homosexual. He said they pulled him out of the car and subjected him to severe beatings and he sustained multiple deep cuts on his head, whiles they filmed the act.
The accused and his accomplices, not satisfied with their act, again pushed him into his car whilst he was bleeding from the cuts and drove him to Kawukudi Park and continued the beatings.In the process, they took away complainant’s money in the sum of GH¢1,650, one Samsung Galaxy S5 and Blackberry Z10 mobile phones.
Inspector Acheampong lamented that, the accused and his accomplices later took the complainant to an ATM booth at Maamobi, took out his Barclays Bank ATM card and forced him to give out his PIN number so that they could withdraw money from his account to be used to settle them.
The accused and his accomplices drove and dumped the complainant in a corner at Maamobi and sped off. The complainant was later found in a pool of blood and was rushed to the hospital where he was admitted, treated and later discharged.
He observed that on February 10, 2015, a report was made to the Police where accused Barri Abu was arrested. During investigations, accused led the Police to Maamobi where the complainant’s vehicle was retrieved and impounded at the Police Station and was later released to the complainant. All efforts are being made to apprehend the accomplices to assist in the investigations.