A Kumasi High Court failed to take the plea of a Police Inspector standing trial for the alleged murder of his girlfriend at Adum in Kumasi.
This is because lawyers for the accused failed to show up in court.
Inspector Ahmed Twumasi, also known as Tycoon, was appearing before the High Court for the first time after an Asokore Mampong District Court committed him for trial last month.
But the hopes of scores of relatives of the deceased to witness proceedings today were dashed when sitting started earlier than anticipated.
The court was, however, forced to adjourn because counsel for the accused, lawyer Ernest Aryeh, was not present.
This also means the plea of the accused could not be taken. The court’s attempt to empanel a jury for the trial of the police inspector had to be put on hold.
Some disappointed relatives continue to agitate for speedy adjudication to serve the deceased and her family with justice.
"I am disappointed at what happened in court today. To hear that the absence of the lawyer of Inspector Tycoon put hearing on hold. As a mother, I ask for justice for Maadwoa who left behind a 3-year old daughter. For the sake of this small girl, justice should prevail. This case is in the interest of all women; justice served is justice for all women. What happened to Maadwoa can happen to any woman," one of them said.
The embattled Inspector, accused of shooting his girlfriend, Victoria Dapaah, a mother of one multiple times with a police service rifle, has been charged with murder by the Attorney-General.
An uncle of the deceased later reported the incident to the police whilst the deceased was sent to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital for treatment.
A medical officer on duty pronounced her dead on the same night.
A special police operation led to the arrest of the accused at his hideout at Sekyere near Effiduase in the Ashanti region.
On April 25, relatives of the late Maaadwoa broke down in court as they heard for the first time details of what led to the killing of their kin, and it took the intervention of police officers in court to calm them.
Wearing an orange T-shirt over a pair of jeans shorts and slippers, the accused policeman removed his black facemask to speak publicly in court for the first time since his arrest.
This was after the Presiding Magistrate, His Worship Buabin Quansah, asked the accused if he had anything to say after details of the offence were read in English and interpreted in the Twi language.
Amid sobbing and shedding tears, he told the court he had no intention of killing the woman he described as his lover.
He said, only God knows what transpired on the night leading to the shooting incident.
But his plea was not taken.
On May 31, Inspector Ahmed Twumasi was charged with murder by the Asokore Mampong District Court.
During the court proceedings, the region's Head of Legal and Prosecutions, ACP Kofi Blagodzi assured family of his outfit's commitment to ensuring that justice is served in the matter, as the office of the Attorney General has given its advice and the committal processes will commence during the next hearing.
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