He was the biblical Sampson of his days, his story, a mixture of bravery and notoriety. A defender of the poor and vulnerable and model figure for citizen vigilantism in Kumasi, specifically Buokrom.
Owing to his much-touted strength and bravery which made him an ‘area champion’ in Kumasi in the 90s, his real name Yaw Aboagye was trumped by nicknames like Budo, Joe Kutani, Ali Joe, Wofa oo Wofa.
Budo was the ish back in the day. His exploits in his area made his name soar in every nook and cranny of Kumasi, he was feared and admired in equal measure.
Residents of Kumasi who bear first witnesses to his act of vigilantism which he sometimes leveraged on to do some unfortunate things, remember him fondly for a variety of things.
To some of the residents in Kumasi, he was the number one protector of the vulnerable in Buokrom and went out of his way to ensure that his area was immune from all criminal activities, particularly robbery.
It is said that when one was robbed in Buokrom, all he needed to do was to see Budo and give him detailed information about the incident and within an hour, Budo miraculously will retrieve the item and hand it over to the victim for free.
‘One man’ Budo, it is said was able to singlehandedly fight off armed robbery attacks in Buokrom and made the place a safe haven for all residents.
Kumasi history remembers him as the man who on one hot afternoon blocked an entire road to traffic and took money from drivers. The money accrued from this unlawful yet braved action was distributed to some poor women in the Buokrom area.
He was a friend to every child and often charmed them with his stories and selfless gestures. If I child in the neighborhood craved toffee, the confectionery shops in the area would not be his first resort, Budo’s house was.
Aided by perceived special powers that gave him strength and made it impossible for him to suffer any gunshot or cutlass injuries, Budo won several battles for his area and became a cult hero for his people.
So highly was he regarded that married women who were abused by their husbands or suffered issues in their marriage ran to Budo for him to instill ‘the fear of God’ in their husbands.
Budo was huge in Buokrom and Kumasi and was celebrated but he was never a saint. Amid all these remarkable works of positive ‘gangsterism’ were underlining issues of criminal allegations against Budo.
TWI NEWS
How Budo died
To most who knew about him, Budo was immortal. In their minds, there was no way Budo was going to die but on August 31, 2004, they had the shocks of their lives when news broke that Budo had died.
According to reports, Budo was killed by his uncle over some land litigation. His uncle, according to reports, was looking to develop a family land but Budo stood in his way.
Aware of Budo’s spiritual powers that made it impossible for him to be killed by a normal bullet, the uncle is said to have sought help from one of Budo’s rivals and a fetish priest who advised that grains of rice be put into the gun before firing.
On August 31, 2004, the uncle activated this advice and shot his nephew.
Budo, as has been said, was far from a saint-like figure as he had his flaws which sometimes led to clashes with the law but he is well remembered as a vigilante who stood and fought for his people.
Below are some interesting stories about Budo as recounted by residents of Kumasi
