A 45-year old farmer, Kofi Hokoame Tugu of Podoe in the North-Tongu District of the Volta region, has allegedly been shot dead by another farmer of Tsipke in the same area, Stephen Atsu Vordzorgbe, without any provocation. According to the Volta Regional Commander, ACP Alex Bedie, the unfortunate event was a result of a misunderstanding between the two farmers. ACP Bedie said somewhere between the latter part of March and early April this year, the 15-year-old son of the deceased was alleged to have led a flock of cattle through the farm of Atsu, located between Podoe and Tsikpe. However, just last Sunday, at about 7:30am, Atsu, 30, who has been banished from the neighboring towns, saw the son of the victim passing in front of his house, which is on his farm, without the cattle, called him and beat him up. In tears, the boy went to his village, Podoe and reported the ordeal to his father, Kofi Tugu. Between 4 and 5pm that day, Hokoame, accompanied by his 18-year-old son, went to the farm of Atsu to ask him why he beat up his son. Atsu Vordzogbe, on seeing them, went in to his room for his shot gun and fired at Kofi Tugu in the stomach, and he struggled over a distance of 15 metres and dropped dead. ACP Bedie said Junior Hokoame raised an alarm and called for help. People around the farm rushed to the scene to rescue the victim, attack his assailant and to subdue and arrest him. In the course of the struggle, Stephen’s younger brother, Elikplim Adinu, collected the gun from him and run away with it. He is believed to have given it to their 69-year-old father, Kwame Afro, to hide it. Elikplim later rushed to the Juapong Police to make a complaint that his brother had been attacked by a mob without any provocation. In the course of reporting the incident, some people brought the dead body and his assailant, who had been severely beaten, to the station. The Regional Police Commander said that Elikplim was immediately arrested and put in police custody. However, his elder brother who had sustained severe body injuries was sent to the Volta River Authority (VRA) Hospital, Akosombo, for treatment. The deceased, Kofi Tugu’s body, has also been deposited at the same hospital. The father of the two suspects, Kwame Afro, who is believed to have hidden the gun, was also arrested and he took the police on a fruitless journey in search of the gun. The officer in charge of the Juapong Police Station, Inspector Abbey, said investigations were still ongoing to locate the gun. He said that incident was part of a series of inhuman acts within Juapong and its surrounding towns and villages. Inspector Abbey said in most cases, the chiefs, opinion leaders and community members were usually uncooperative with the police in flushing out criminals and perpetrators of such acts. He noted that in some instances, they were attacked by community members when they went to make arrests, a situation which he said was not favourable in maintaining peace and stability in the area. Inspector Abbey therefore appealed to the community to cooperate and volunteer information on criminals. Source: Daily Guide