A District Court at La has directed Police Prosecutors to provide the court with a hospital report confirming the age of the final-year student from O’Reilly Senior High School, accused of killing his classmate.
This order follows a statement by Chief Inspector Paul Osei Adjei, standing in for the main prosecutor, who informed the court that steps had been taken and the report was expected to be ready by Friday, September 20.
The accused allegedly stabbed Edward Borketey Sackey, his classmate to death after a dispute over whose parents were wealthier.
During the court session on Thursday, September 19, 2024, Chief Inspector Adjei mentioned that the postmortem report was complete, and blood samples from the accused (whose name has been withheld) had been collected by the Police Hospital. He requested a week’s adjournment, but the court denied this.
Magistrate Her Worship Adwoa Benaso Asumadu-Sakyi stressed that a case of such public interest should not be delayed. She questioned why the prosecution had not progressed during the two-week adjournment period after the last hearing on September 6. The magistrate emphasized the prosecution’s responsibility to expedite procedures that would aid the court in resolving the case.
As a result, the court ordered the hospital to present the report on the accused’s age by Friday, September 20.
The plea of the accused, whose age is in dispute, has not yet been taken. While the family of the deceased claims he was 24 years old, others say he was 18, prompting the need for a medical assessment to determine his exact age.
The accused, a final-year student of O’Reilly Senior High School, has been provisionally charged with murder following the fatal stabbing.