The Dipo puberty rites of the Krobos which are normally associated with merry-making turned sour last Sunday when two persons were accidentally shot dead at a shrine at Somanya, the traditional headquarters of the Yilo Krobo paramountcy in the Eastern Region.

The deceased Dede Terkpernor Teiko, 16 and Tetteh Nyade, 42, who were among a large crowd gathered at the shrine for the rites died on the spot when a bullet from one of the guns being fired as part of the rites hit them.

The unknown gunman bolted soon after the fatality and the police are searching for him.

The traditional priestess of the shrine, Dede Ayepon, has, however, been arrested and is assisting the police in their investigations.

In an interview, the Eastern Regional Public Affairs Director of the Police Service, Chief Inspector Christopher Tawia, said about 5.00 p.m. on that fateful day, many people assembled at the shrine to observe the puberty rites being performed for some young girls.

He said as part of the rites, a musket had to be fired to signal the initiation of the girls into womanhood.

Chief Inspector Tawia stated that when the gun was fired, the bullet hit the two and they died instantly.

He said in the midst of the confusion, all those assembled at the shrine, including the unidentified gunman, fled the scene.

The police, he said, had intensified their efforts to apprehend the gunman.

Source: Daily Graphic