Sadness was the dominant emotion as mourners and sympathisers joined the family of the late Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama at his residence in Burma Camp in Accra to mark the one-week celebration of his departure.
The mourners included former government officials under the Mahama-led administration and some senior national security personnel.
Mourners
Some of the past government officials included Ms Hanna Tetteh, former Foreign Affairs Minister, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Ms Dzifa Ablah Gomashie, and former Attorney General, Ms Betty Mould Iddrisu.
Also at the slain soldier’s residence was the immediate past Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), Air Marshall Samson-Oje.
It will be recalled that Captain Mahama was lynched on Monday, May 29, 2017 by some residents of Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region who mistook the identity of the army captain as an armed robber.
Rituals
Meanwhile, the chiefs and people at the Denkyira Traditional Area have performed rituals to cleanse their land after some of their residents in the Denkyira-Obuasi shed the blood of Captain Mahama.
They (Chiefs) have also called on the gods in the area and the ghost of Captain Mahama to haunt all those who took part in the lynching act to report themselves to the police.
The Chiefs dressed mainly in black and red cloths poured libation, slaughtered some animals and invoked the spirits of the gods in the area in the performance of the rituals.
So far, more than 25 people have been arrested in connection with the lynching of Captain Mahama.
Background
Captain Mahama was the Commander of a military detachment stationed at Diaso in the Upper Denkyira West District in the Central Region to check galamsey activities.
At 8 a.m. on May 29, 2017, Captain Mahama, wearing civilian clothes but with his sidearm, left his detachment base for a 20-kilometre jogging.
At a press conference in Accra last Friday, the Director of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mr Bright Oduro, giving a detailed account of events leading to Captain Mahama’s death, said between 8:55 a.m. and 9:25 a.m, the military officer got to the outskirts of Denkyira-Obuasi, where a number of women were selling foodstuffs by the roadside.
He stopped to interact with the women and even bought some snails, which he left with the women to keep for him to pick up on his return from the walk.
While he was taking out money from his pocket to pay for the snails, the woman from whom he had bought the snails and a few others saw Captain Mahama’s sidearm tucked to his waist.
Soon after he left the women, one of them telephoned the Assembly Member for Denkyira-Obuasi, William Baah, to report what they had seen.
Baah, instead of verifying the information, is said to have rather mobilised the townsfolk to prepare to attack an armed robber who had been sighted by the women.
He called a motor rider, popularly known as Komoko, and, together with another man called Kwesi Buah, proceeded to confront Captain Mahama.
Attack
Baah and his group met Captain Mahama near the Denkyira-Obuasi cemetery, which is one-and-a-half-kilometres away from the foodstuff sellers and about the same place where the body was found.
As soon as Baah and the two men spotted Captain Mahama with the sidearm, they accosted him without giving him the opportunity to identify himself.By that time, the message had spread that an armed robber had been sighted and so other people had come around, wielding all forms of implements, and they started attacking Captain Mahama.
By that time, the message had spread that an armed robber had been sighted and so other people had come around, wielding all forms of implements, and they started attacking Captain Mahama.While Captain Mahama was being attacked, he made efforts to explain his identity, while at the same time attempting to flee from his attackers.
While Captain Mahama was being attacked, he made efforts to explain his identity, while at the same time attempting to flee from his attackers.Police investigations established that Captain Mahama, in his attempt to escape the attack, jumped onto different motorbikes, but he was not successful in his attempt.
Police investigations established that Captain Mahama, in his attempt to escape the attack, jumped onto different motorbikes, but he was not successful in his attempt.Also, Mr Oduro said, Captain Mahama attempted to escape by jumping onto a timber truck by entering through the passenger side but the attackers fired and shattered the windscreen, causing him to fall off.
Also, Mr Oduro said, Captain Mahama attempted to escape by jumping onto a timber truck by entering through the passenger side but the attackers fired and shattered the windscreen, causing him to fall off.
There were sporadic shooting from the attackers. The attackers used implements, including clubs, cement blocks and machetes.
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