Father of the deceased Ishmael Mensah, an 10-year-old boy who was murdered at Coca-Cola near Great Lamptey Mills School, a suburb of Kasoa, Central Region, has said he wants the suspects who murdered his late son to be sentenced life imprisonment.
According to him, the family is shocked about the sudden demise of their son and if they don’t get justice, they will put the law into their hands and act in their own way.
When GhanaWeb’s Ekow Arthur-Aidoo, visited the family on Sunday, April 4, 2021, Frank Mensah Blanger, father of the deceased stated that he is ready to pursue the case to its logical conclusion.
He said, his son called him on Friday from where he works in the Oti Region, stating that he misses him so he should try and come home.
He said when he gets the chance from work, he will come to Kasoa to visit them.
“I set off from Oti Region to Kasoa very late and arrived in the morning. When I arrived, they were asleep so his mom woke him up to inform him about my arrival. Immediately he heard that, he woke up from his sleep and came to hug me.
"I asked what he's got for me, he brought out an egg saying they kept it for me. I took it, his mother prepared breakfast for us. We all ate together, I told him I was tired because of the long journey so I wanted to rest for a while.,” Mensah Blanger narrated.
He continued, “One of the sons of my neighbour then came and told him he is wanted by his elder brother. Instead of using the route in front of the house to the place, they used the back route and went to the uncompleted building close to my neighbour’s house, where the incident happened.
“Around 10 am, my wife called me while I was sleeping, saying that my son has been murdered. I screamed 'what!' And asked her how is that possible because we finished our breakfast not long ago. I rushed out of my room to where the incident was said to have happened and indeed, I saw the lifeless body of my son lying in cold blood and the suspects were already going to bury him by themselves.
“The brother of one of the "murderers" informed their dad about the incident and quickly, he brought them to the house and asked them to give an account of the incident. A lot of people came to the house to sympathise with us after news of my son’s demise went rife.
“Later, the police arrived. The suspects were arrested and sent to the Kasoa Police Station. Before my son was murdered, one of the suspects told his friends that he will get some money by Monday so that he can buy his Range Rover and drive around. Little did I know they were planning to kill my son.”
When asked if he suspects any foul play in his son’s death, Frank Mensah Blanger answered in affirmative explaining that, the suspects before his son was murdered, were saying that the person who was going to work out things for them was to arrive yesterday [Saturday] evening, so that they convey the lifeless body of his son to their shrine.
He said one of the boys who is between the ages 17 and 18 years has a bad reputation; “I learnt in their school, he raped a young girl and was arrested. He was not able to write WASSCE; he had to write as a private candidate…”
The late Ishmael’s father said they will bury their son on Tuesday according to the Islamic tradition.
“According to the police, the boys admitted that someone contracted them to kill my son. So, the police say we should leave everything to them; they will question the suspects further. They have asked us to come to the police station on Tuesday and see if it's possible to release the body for us for burial.
“I will pursue the case to its logical conclusion. I will not hesitate to put the laws into my hands and act in my own way if I don’t get justice for my late son. I want the suspects to be sentenced to life imprisonment,” Frank Mensah Blanger stressed.
