12-yr-old in Maj. Mahama's murder case 'lied' about age

It is now emerging that the boy who told police he was 12 years old when he was arrested in connection with the murder of a senior military officer in May had drastically reduced his age. The suspect, Ebenezer Asamoah, is in fact 22 years old, a document produced in court by police investigators revealed. The police investigations pointed out that the suspect was 19 years old when he sat for the Basic Education Certificate Examination in April 2015. The evidence presented by prosecution to the Accra Central District Court Thursday was gotten from a spreadsheet investigators obtained from the district education office, stating his age when he completed Junior High School at Denkyira Obuasi in the Central Region. Ebenezer Asamoah is standing trial with 18 others for the murder of Major Maxwell Adam Mahama at Denkyira-Obuasi on May 29 while on official assignment in the area. Ebenezer fled the town after allegedly committing the crime. Luck eluded him and was arrested six days later at Manso Nkwanta, the capital of the Amansie West District in the Ashanti Region. He told the police he was 12 years and repeated same when he first appeared in court. The age however changed from 12 to 17 years when the case progressed. But in court on Thursday, July 6, prosecution produced document showing that the suspect is 22 years old. TV3’s Komla Klutse who was in court reports that prosecutors told the court that Ebenezer Asamoah lied about his age as a ploy to seek sympathy from the court. His father Bismark Asamoah also confirmed the age of his son as stated by the police. Meanwhile, Ebenezer Asamoah, the Assemblyman who led the lynching and 17 others have been charged with conspiracy to murder and murder. Read also: Denkyira-Obuasi residents begin ‘image restoration’ after Maj. Mahama murder By Isaac Essel |3news.com | Ghana]]>