Three nabbed over Prampram Mankralo assassination

Three suspects have been nabbed in connection with the assassination of the Mankralo of the Prampram Traditional Area, Nene Atsure Benta III.

News of the arrests was disclosed by the District Chief Executive of Ningo-Prampram, Mr Jonathan Paa Nii Doku, who is also the Chairman of the District Security Committee (DISEC).

Nene Atsure Benta III, was, on Thursday, 13 December 2018 killed by gunmen at Dodowa in the Shai Osudoku District.

The Caretaker chief was returning from the Dodowa House of Chiefs, after a meeting when the gunmen opened fire on him.

The reasons for his assassination are still not known.

A few hours before he was killed, one Nii Nartey IV, who claims to be the stool-father of the now-deceased Mankralo, together with some Prampram Mankralo stool elders, held a press conference at Ashaiman at which they levelled some allegations against the murdered chief.

Nii Nartey IV, who addressed the media, said: “Nene Atsure Benta, for some time now, has failed to perform his core duties as Mankralo and he has failed to respect the elders of the stool. So, as the stool-father, together with some priests and priestesses as well as some elders of the stool, we went to the family house to de-stool him on Wednesday afternoon”.

He continued: “A few moments after we had performed the de-stoolment rites, Nene Atsure Benta led a team of well-built men believed to be land guards to my house and launched a severe attack on me.

“They drew me on the floor from my house to the roadside. The land guards, who were working on the orders of Nene Atsure Benta, fired some warning shots and threated to kill me if I did not reverse the de-stoolment rites.

“For the fear of my life, I obliged and followed them to the family house to perform some rites”, he said.

When contacted by Accra-based Citi FM for his side of the story, prior to his murder, Nene Benta said: “I am in a meeting at the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs at Dodowa, so, please hold on and meet me at Prampram when I am done with my meeting here”.

Those words would turn out to be his last to the media as he was shot en route to Prampram.