Kasoa Cops murder: Court laments over getting jurors for case

The Criminal Division of the Accra High Court presided over by Justice El-Freda Denkyi has for the third consecutive time lamented getting jurors to be empaneled to commence the trial of Eric Kojo Duah, the accused person in the center of the Kasoa Cop killers case.

In court on Thursday, July 1, when the case was called, the judge again said, it was “having challenges in getting the jurors” present in court to be empaneled.

The case has been adjourned to July 15 hoping to get enough jurors to ensure the case in which Eric Kojo Duah is standing trial for murder progress.

Lawyers of the accused person have filed an application for bail, but prosecution said, it has not been served.

The accused person has been charged with the murder of two police officers – General Lance Corporal Mohammed Awal and Lance Corporal Michael Dzamesi on the Kasoa-Budumburam-Accra stretch in August 2019.

The accused person who were on May 4 refused bail after his lawyer Augustines Obour repeated his oral application for bail, was not present when the case was called.

At the last court sitting on Wednesday, June 16 Justice El-Freda Denkyi, “the Court is having challenges getting the jurors” to be empaneled as was the hope of the court.

She consequently, adjourned the case to July 1, 2021. Both the accused person and his lawyer Augustines Obuor were not in court when the case was called.

But, State Attorneys led by Ama Prempeh said, the accused person who is

EIB Network’s Court Correspondent Murtala Inusah reports that this is the third consecutive time the court has indicated it was “having challenges getting jurors” for the case.

The first was on May 2 and the second was on June 16 where the trial judge said, the court was having challenges getting members of the jurors and hoped that by today’s court sitting the jurors would be empaneled. Nut, that was not to be.

Eric Kojo Duah has been formally charged with two counts of murder.

The AG last year advised the Police to formally charge Eric Kojo Duah, who is alleged to have shot and killed two officers on the Kasoa-Budumburam-Aprah stretch in August 2019, with murder.

At the District Court presided over by Ms. Rosemond Dodua Agyiri, the Prosecution led by Assistant Superintendent of Police Sylvester Asare, said the Police had received instructions from the Attorney-General’s Department to formally charge Duah aka Sakora with murder.

He allegedly took turns to shoot and kill General Lance Corporal Mohammed Awal and Lance Corporal Michael Dzamesi who were on task force duty on the Kasoa-Budumburam-Aprah road on August 28, this year.

The officers apparently asked Eric Duah, who was driving an unregistered vehicle to stop but he ignored them.

The officers who had a service vehicle chased him and Duah pulled a pistol from his car and shot the officers in turns.

While Awal died instantly, Dzamesi died shortly after arriving at the hospital.

The accused person has since been remanded into lawful custody.