Father who threw his son into the sea for ‘occultic’ purposes remanded

The Kaneshie District Court has remanded a 31-year-old father for throwing his son into the sea at Akuma village near the Bank of Ghana in Accra.

Prince Acquaye, known as Juu, has been slapped with a provisional charge of murder, contrary to Section 46 of the Criminal Offences Act 1960, Act 29.

The brief facts of the case, as presented to the court by Inspector Apewe Achama, said the complainant in the matter is Abigail Nyumor, the girlfriend of the accused and the mother of the child.

Inspector Achama said both the complainant and accused are food vendors and live at Akuma village.

The accused, the prosecutor added, is also claimed to be an internet fraudster.

Per the facts, they lived together with the child now deceased, who is their only child.

The prosecution said for about two months; the accused has been telling the complainant that if something happened to their child, she should not worry because they will be rich, but the complainant, who thought he was joking, told him to stop the jokes.

On April 20, about 12noon, the three were at home when the child requested money to buy groundnut.

The prosecutor said the complainant gave GHC5 to the child, and he left, after which the complainant dozed off.

Inspector Achama said the complainant was later awoken by neighbours and was told that the child had been thrown into the sea by the accused.

The prosecutor said the accused was arrested and handed over to the police while the victim was rushed to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, where he was admitted for treatment.

But, he died on April 21, 2021.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused was once initiated into an occultic group. It was time for him to make a human sacrifice since the occult forces were tormenting him.

The prosecution said the accused chose to sacrifice the child by throwing him down the cliff at Akuma Village, which is 33 feet above sea level, to gain his freedom and wealth.

He has since been remanded into police custody to reappear on May 17, 2021.