The town of Woe in the Volta Region was the scene of a horrendous spectacle last week, when a 23-year-old farmer sprayed the room of a sleeping family with petrol and set it ablaze, killing a man, his wife and their four-year-old grandchild.

The victims were identified as Janet Dzikunu, 53; Kofi Telu, 52; and their four-year-old grandson, Eyram Kobla Ametepe.

The charred remains of Janet and Eyram have already been buried while those of Telu had been deposited at the Keta Government Hospital Mortuary.

A badly burnt Telu momentarily survived the blazing fire because, according to him, he vanished from the room after parts of his body got burnt but indicated that attempts to personally rescue his family failed.

The suspected arsonist, who was identified as Sherry Kudzinawo, an ex-convict, is currently being held by the Keta Police in connection with the crime.

Although the motive behind the action is not clear, it is believed to be linked with an assault case currently before the Keta Circuit Court.

Reeling in serious pains and gasping for breath, Telu managed to utter some words from his bedside shortly before his death.

“I heard a strange noise at the back of my window and the smell of petrol in the room around 11pm”, he said.

He said he rushed to the door but realised that it was firmly locked from behind.

“As I attempted to unlock the door, a naked light was thrown into the room setting it ablaze. The fire quickly spread to all parts of the room due to the inflammable liquid and before long we saw ourselves and our property at the centre of blazing fire”, Telu said moments before he died.

He said shouts and wailing attracted some sympathizers, but the rescuers also found it difficult to open the door.

According to him, he made frantic efforts to open door and rescue the family but could not due to the fast spreading fire.

In spite of the assurances by the hospital authorities that he would survive, Telu kept saying "I am suffering too much; I know I will die." He died the following day.

According to the Daily Graphic, the police retrieved some stolen items from the suspect when his room was searched on Sunday.



Source: Daily Graphic