Ghana: suspects confess to ritual killing in Mankessim Murder

Warning: the following article’s graphic content may upset some readers.

Yesterday I reported on four recent ritual murder cases in Ghana, one of them being the killing for ritualistic purposes of a young lady, Georgina Asor Botchwey, a student nurse, at Mankessim, in the Central Region.

The murder took place on September 9 of this year. Two suspects have been arrested. The suspects are a self-styled pastor Michael Darko, 48; and the Tufuhene of Ekumfi Akwakrom Christopher Ekow Quansah, 65, who reportedly kidnapped, killed, and secretly buried the victim.

Screenshot – click here to watch the YouTube video

The Ghanaian police is to be commended for its swift action. We will follow closely subsequent events. (webmaster FVDK)

Suspects Confess To Ritual Killing In Mankessim Murder

Published: September 23, 2022
By: Gloria Kafu Ahiable – The Ghana Report

Two suspects involved in the murder of a student nurse at Mankessim in the Central Region have admitted to killing the victim for ritual purposes.

The suspects, a self-styled pastor Michael Darko, 48; and the Tufuhene of Ekumfi Akwakrom Christopher Ekow Quansah, 65, reportedly kidnapped, killed, and secretly buried the victim.

The police said the two confessed to “murdering the victim for money rituals.”

“During police interrogation, suspect Michael Darko, who is the alleged boyfriend of the senior sister of the deceased victim and was last seen with her, led police to the location where they had buried her after the murder.”

The body has since been exhumed and deposited at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital morgue for preservation and autopsy.

Meanwhile, the two accused persons were hauled before the District Court II in Cape Coast to respond to their crime on 22 September 2022.

They were remanded in police custody by the Cape Coast Court to reappear on 4 October 2022.

Both have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and murder, contrary to section 46 of the Criminal Offenses Act 1960, Act 29.

What happened to the student nurse

The student nurse, Georgina Asor Botchwey, was allegedly kidnapped, killed and secretly buried by the chief and the pastor in the chief’s house at Mankessim.

The victim, 25, is said to have gone for an interview at the Ankaful Nursing Training College when the pastor, who happens to be her sister’s boyfriend, invited her for a meeting.

After the interview, the victim set off to meet her soon‐to‐be brother‐in‐law. Little did she know a trap had been set before she arrived in Cape Coast on 8 September 2022.

The self-styled pastor had conspired with the chief, who is the Tufuhene of Ekumfi Akwakrom, to kidnap and sexually assault her.

On 9 September 2022, the accused persons picked the victim up in a Taxi at the Ankaful Hospital Pedu junction in Cape Coast.

They then took her to an uncompleted building belonging to the chief, where they had dug a hole in preparation for the ritual.

The chief is said to have hit the deceased with a club, and when she fell, her sister’s boyfriend dragged her by the feet while the chief held her neck till she died.

Meanwhile, news that the deceased had been missing for three weeks began to spread in the Mankessim after she failed to return home after the interview.

A notice in circulation read:

“Georgina Botchwey went for an interview at Cape Coast on Wednesday, and up till now, she cannot be found; her phone is off. Please, anybody with information about her should call 0208503126 or 0247048711.”

Following this notice, a friend of the deceased raised an alarm about Georgina meeting with her sister’s boyfriend.

Shortly after the tip-off, the pastor was arrested in Cape Coast and admitted to the crime.

He subsequently led the police to the residence where Georgina had been buried, and her body was exhumed.

The family of the murdered student nurse later disclosed that the suspects initially demanded a ransom from them.

According to Georgina Asor Botchwey’s relatives, the pastor and his accomplice had demanded that they pay GH¢15,000 for her release.

Unfortunately, the family could not raise the said amount.

Source: Suspects Confess To Ritual Killing In Mankessim Murder

Ghana: four recent ritual murder cases: Abesim, Kasoa, Mankessim, Wa

Ghana’s reputation abroad is one of a stable democracy, with a relative healthy economy, albeit plagued by problems which are characteristic for a developing economy: low incomes, lack of jobs, shortage of capital, to name but a few.

However, there is another Ghana, a traditional Ghana, where people believe in the power of ‘juju’, in superstition, and where criminal people do not hesitate to attack their fellow countrymen for the purposes of ritualistic activities, even if this means that the victims die in the hands of their torturers and murderers.

The four cases cited below illustrate this. The ritualistic murders took place in various parts of the country.

In the past I have given ample attention to the Kasoa case which occurred to the west of the country’s capital Accra (Greater Accra region). All murder cases are tragic but the Kasoa case even more because of the background of the young murderers. The Abesim murder which made two victims, two boys of 12 and 15 years old, took place in the Brong Ahafo Region. The Mankassim murder case is situated in Ghana’s Central Region (Ashanti Region), between Cape Coast and Winneba. I will report more on this case in the next few days. Finally, the gruesome ritualistic murder in Wa, in the Upper West Region.

Tthe reader is warned that the graphic details of the murder(s) may be shocking.
(webmaster FVDK)

Four recent ritual murder cases: Abesim, Kasoa, Mankessim, Wa

Published: September 26, 2022
By: Ghana Web

was conducted at his home.

Source: Four recent ‘ritual’ murder cases: Kasoa, Abesim, Mankessim, Wa

Ghana: female student murdered at Cape Coast, private parts removed by unknown assailants

A shocking news item, but it is important to emphasize that the police hasn’t yet confirmed that we’re dealing here with a ritual murder, even though there are indications of ritualistic activities. To be objective, one has to include the possibility that seemingly ritualistic activities such as removing organs or other body parts aim to mislead the investigators and that the perpetrator thus tries to cover up another crime.

As soon as more details will emerge I will inform the reader accordingly.
(webmaster FVDK)

Woman murdered at Cape Coast, genitals removed

The identity and family of the deceased is yet to be established

Published: May 14, 2022
BY; Kasaha fmonline

A lady believed to be in her early twenties has been murdered and her genitals removed at Ola, a suburb of Cape Coast in the Central Region Friday night.

The deceased who is suspected to be a student of the Ola College of Education or University of Cape Coast was found lifeless along the road around the College premises.

The Authorities of the Ola College of Education and the University of Cape Coast have not yet confirmed whether the said deceased was a student of any of the schools.

The residents of Ola were thrown into a state of shock after they found the body of the light-skinned lady lying in a pool of blood with several machete wounds on the body near the Ola Catholic Church Stretch.

According to eyewitnesses, initially, they assumed a car had knocked the deceased and the driver escaped but upon getting closer they realized her vagina had been removed with blood oozing from her nose and mouth making them suspect the assailant may have committed that heinous crime for rituals purposes.

An inspection of her body showed that some of her body parts had been removed by her assailants who it is believed cut them for use in rituals.

The Police who were notified of the incident conveyed the body to the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital mortuary.

Meanwhile, the Police have commenced an investigation into the incident.

The family of the deceased is yet to be identified and no arrest has been made.

Source: Kasapafmonline.com/Yaw Boagyan

Source: Woman murdered at Cape Coast, genitals removed