MAN CLUBBED TO DEATH AT KUBEASE

A 65-year old man, Kwaku Asare Acheampong, who leases excavators to small scale miners has been killed by unknown assailants near his residence at Kubease in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality of Ashanti. 

 He is believed to have been attacked around 1 am today/yesterday and hit with a sawn wood in the neck ostensibly after the attackers had sealed his mouth with a polythene cellotape while his two hands were tied to the back with the legs also tied with a black rope.

 At the time Ashanti Today arrived at the uncompleted building just adjacent to his residence at about 11.30 am today, many neighbours, town folks and concerned members of the public had gathered around the body waiting for personnel of the Police to come and start with their investigations. 

The sawn wood believed to have been used to club him was also lying beside the body while some of the most important parts of all the four excavators had been taken away, suggesting that the assailants were thieves who needed to overcome him before they could achieve their aim. 

The deceased’s elder brother, Asare Boateng who owns the excavators, told Ashanti Today that the machines were leased out to galamsey operators for gold mining in the Asante Akyem Central Municipality of Ashanti. 

However, following government’s directive to all illegal miners to vacate their sites, the excavators were retrieved and are being kept behind their residence. 

According to Mr. Boateng, his late brother had been watching over them every night in the next door uncompleted house. 

Mr. Boateng said Mr. Acheampong went to continue with the work at about 10 pm yesterday but was unable to wake up early to open the main gate to their house for which somebody was sent to find out the reason. It was the messenger who brought information about the suspected murder. 

Mr. Boateng suspects that the heinous crime could have been perpetrated by familiar persons who perhaps feared that they would be identified by his late brother. 

One of his daughters, Ataa Afrakomah, also disclosed to Ashanti Today that even though the late father was not known to have a bad blood with anybody, he reported to the father that somebody had made an attempt on the excavators for which he, the father has also threatened to shoot anyone who tries to steal anything from the mining equipment.

 Meanwhile, personnel from the Ejisu District Police have visited the scene to begin their investigation into the incident.