The suspects who were arrested by some students and members of staff of the university, changed their pleas when they appeared before a Kumasi Circuit Court, presided over by Mr. Amo Yartey, yesterday. The court allowed the suspects – Austin Oganwu, 20, a Level 200 Engineering student; Kingsley Ucheme, 23, a Level 300 Chemical Engineering student and William Seyi, 19, a level 200 Engineering student – to change their pleas when their counsel, Mr. William Kusi, argued that his clients did not have access to any counsel when they first appeared before the court. The case has now been adjourned to May 4, 2010. When the accused first appeared in court, they pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to rob a female student of the KNUST but not guilty to a charge of robbing.
Earlier, a State Attorney, Mr. Emmanuel Lawrence Otoo-Boison, had told the court that the accused had been arrested and handed over to the police moments after information had leaked out that they had attacked a female student of the university. He explained that the victim, a final-year student of the university, was attacked around 12:30 a.m. on May 15, 2010 when she was sleeping in her hall. He said the suspects gently knocked on the door of the victim and thinking that it was her roommate, she opened the door, only for the accused, who wore masks and allegedly wielded sharp machetes, to violently push her into the room, hold her captive, blindfold her with black sellotape and allegedly rob her.
According to Mr. Otoo Boison, the suspects, who allegedly threatened to disfigure the victim if she made the least noise, took away laptops, a digital camera, mobile phones and cash before bolting from the room. He said after the victim had recovered from the trauma she had gone through, she reported the matter to the hall porter who, together with a section of students, succeeded in arresting the suspects and handing them over to the police. He said some of the items were retrieved from the suspects when they were arrested and handed over to the police.
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