The Trial Of The Beast…

AARON ANSAH-AGYEMAN

THE TRIAL OF THE BEAST

EPISODE 12

“We hated the orphanage. Mr. Nhyirah, the Director, was cruel. We nicknamed him Hitler. He had seven guards in the place, and he used them to terrorise us. They beat us for the least offence,” Kweku Sintim said in a rush. “Sometimes they locked us up in this little windowless room we called ‘The Horror Ghetto’. It was really bad in that room. It was hot and did not have much air.

Kwadwo Pamfo was brought to the orphanage when he was five years because his mother was serving a life sentence for murdering her husband. Sometimes Mr. Nhyirah took Kwadow Pamfo to visit his mother in prison. As we grew up, see, there were boys who were loyal to Zak Twum, and there were those who were loyal to Kwadwo Pamfo because they were seen as the two leaders. Me, I drifted toward Kwadwo Pamfo because he seemed so strong, and prevented the other boys from bullying me. He was also close to Mr. Nhyirah, who didn’t like Zak Twum very much. As a result, boys who were close to Zak got sent to The Horror Ghetto a lot of times.

One day, Kwadwo Pamfo came to me bursting with excitement. He told me he had met a man called Kwadzo Kudadze who is going to help him. Kwadwo Pamfo said our lives were going to change for the better. For some months I didn’t know what Kwadwo did for Mr. Kudadze, but later I got to know that he was selling cocaine for the man.

Mr. Kudadze gave Kwadwo a good commission for the cocaine he sold. Kwadwo started making money, and started buying real expensive things. He also bought food and clothing for those boys loyal to him. This made the other boys drift toward his camp.

Kwadwo was able to convince most of the boys to sell drugs too. Life became harder for Zak Twum and his group in the orphanage, and so Zak Twum was finally forced to join in. He also began selling drugs for Mr. Kudadze. It seemed Zak was able to make more sales, so Mr. Kudadze liked him more, and gave him more money. This didn’t please Kwadwo and he started having a lot of fights with Zak.

One day, we heard Kwadwo Pamfo’s real mother had been sent to the hospital. She was dying of cancer, and she wanted to see Kwadwo urgently. We went to the hospital with Mr. Nhyirah, but only Kwadwo went to see his mother. When he came out, he was a changed boy. He was crying bitterly. When his mother died, we all went to the funeral, but Kwadwo did not go; he told me he hated her. This was funny to me because, see, he really loved her before that last visit to the hospital.

Well, a month later, Kwadwo told me that the woman whom he thought was his mother wasn’t his mother after all. When he went to see her at the hospital, the woman confessed that she had been a nurse at a government hospital. She did not have any children with her husband. She said that one night a wealthy woman had delivered twins at the hospital. Kwadwo’s supposed mother had seen an opportunity to steal a child. She was able to steal one of the boys – whom she called Kwadwo Pamfo – with the help of some of her friends. She lied to the wealthy woman that one of her twin boys had died.

This woman resigned from her work later and left the town with her husband for fear of being caught. Her husband was happy at first, but then he started beating her, see, and one evening she accidentally hit him and he died. Her stolen baby was just five years old, and after her sentencing Kwadwo was sent to the orphanage. After her confession, she gave Kwadwo the address of his real parents at Nankesewa.

Kwadwo Pamfo and I went to Nankesewa to verify this startling information; we went to his parents’ house. We wore disguises and watched the gates. Everything was so true! His real parents had only one child. I was shocked when I saw the young boy! He looked exactly like Kwadwo Pamfo! It was true that they were twins!

I tried to convince Kwadwo to reveal himself to his parents and his twin brother, but he said no. He told me he had a better plan. We returned to Sasam, and for many weeks Kwadwo sat brooding. One day, he told me how much he hated his parents. He told me that they should have asked to see his dead body when Madam Kukuwa, the woman who stole him, told them he died. He thus planned to take revenge on his parents and brother. You see, he did not want to share all the wealth with his twin brother whom he said had enjoyed it all from birth.

Kwadwo spent many months studying the habits of his twin brother secretly. He knew his twin brother’s schedules, likes and dislikes. When he was sure he knew everything, he returned to Nankesewa and put his plans into action. One evening, he let me accompany him to his twin brother’s school, and Kwadwo kidnapped him by knocking him unconscious in the toilet. He had a car waiting, and we drove back to Sasam with his twin brother gagged and tied up in the boot. Kwadwo forced his brother to call his parents and told them he had travelled with a friend and would come back in a couple of days.

Now, see, Kwadwo Pamfo and most of the boys in his group were addicted to cocaine, but Zak Twum never used the cocaine, and none of his boys did. Zak Twum loved a boy called Ogum like a brother. Well, Kwadwo’s plan involved Zak, okay? And to implement his plan, Kwadwo Pamfo lured Ogum to his room and forced him to take an overdose of cocaine. He knew Zak Twum would be really mad when he found out. Ogum was rushed to the hospital, and almost lost his life. When Zak Twum found out that Kwadwo was responsible for giving Ogum that much cocaine, he was very angry and started looking for Kwadwo Pamfo.

Kwadwo called Zak Twum and informed him that he was enjoying the breeze at the National Park. Zak Twum showed up at the park, and began giving us a chase with a knife in his hand. He caught Kwadwo and really beat him up, but he did not use the knife. We all knew Zak could not use his knife on anybody although he liked holding it a lot and threatening people who crossed him with it. It was a beautiful Swiss knife given to him by a philanthropist who visited the orphanage, and so Zak loved holding it a lot. It was all part of the plan.

You see, when the policeman appeared in the park, Zak Twum run off, but left his knife. Kwadwo took out a handkerchief and picked up the knife. We went back to his rented room, where his twin brother was still tied up in the bathroom. Kwadwo killed him with Zak Twum’s knife whilst I cried in the living room. Kwadwo Pamfo used a heavy metal to destroy the face of his brother so that no pictures could be shown in the newspapers and on television.

He told me to give a statement to the police accusing Zak Twum of the murder, and then he left for Nankesewa, dressed as his twin brother. His real parents welcomed him back home thinking Kwadwo Pamfo is hisbtwin brother, whose real name was Sammy Acquah. So, you see, Kwadwo Pamfo has now taken over the life of his twin brother whom he killed, and he is now living the life of Sammy Acquah! Meanwhile, Zak Twum is now being held for the murder of Kwadwo Pamfo.”

Kweku Sintim has finished his story, and he sat in the dock shivering hard.

It was a most macabre story.

Even Zak Twum was terribly shocked. Faddah walked forward, shaking his head numbly as he gazed at Kweku Sintim.

“What you’ve told us is terrible!” he wailed. “How can this be? No, I refuse to think any teenager would be so…heartless! You’re lying, young man! In your wish to see your biological mother, you’ve let your sick brain dream up a bunch of horrible lies!”

“I told the truth,” Sintim said, wiping his eyes again. “Kwadwo Pamfo hates Zak Twum so much that he decided to be present in court to see Zak Twum destroyed by my testimony today.”

“You mean Kwadwo Pamfo is here in this courtroom?” Faddah asked groggily.

“There he is,” Sintim said and pointed.

All eyes followed his pointing finger.

He was pointing at a grey-haired, bearded man sitting in the front row.

“Are you mad?” Faddah exploded. “That man is an old man!”

“Kwadwo’s nickname is the Chameleon,” Sintim said calmly. “He’s wearing a mask. Go on, pull off his wig.”

The old man suddenly stood up and tried to flee, but Chief Inspector Boateng caught him by the arm. He took hold of the man’s grey hair and pulled.

The mask came off in his hand, revealing the face of a young man.

It was Kwadwo Pamfo, and he was struggling furiously, glaring at Sintim with such hatred that he frothed at the mouth.

“YOU IMBECILE!” he screamed. “Do you know what you’ve done? I took care of you and you betray me for a promise about your stupid mother?”

“I told you not to kill your brother!” Sintim screamed back. “You would not listen. Now I’m free, and my conscience is free! I have not been able to sleep! I see his face every night, filled with blood and his screams for mercy! Oh, I told you not to kill him! I begged you not to kill him, you murderer!”

There was a terrible din all around as people tried to control their shock at the horror story they had heard.

Sintim got down from the dock.

He had started crying again as he faced Zak Twum.

“I told the truth!” he cried. “Please, for the love of God, show me my mother!”

Once again great silence reigned.

Zak Twum did not move, but suddenly a lady got to her feet amongst the seated spectators. She was a very pretty middle-aged woman. She was crying so hard that her whole body shook. And she could not speak. She just held out her arms.

Sintim turned a broken face toward her.

“Mommy?” he whispered tremulously. “You’re my Mommy?”

The lady nodded violently.

She burst into loud tears and raced toward Sintim.

“My baby!” she shouted. “My sweet, brave baby!”

Sintim was also crying loudly as he ran toward the mother he had never known.

“MAMMAAAAA!” he screamed in a voice that was filled with bass. “MAMAAAAA!”

They embraced each other fiercely.

The crowd got to its feet, and for the next few minutes, most of them cried…and all of them applauded as they watched a mother and her son finally reunited after many years of strife and heartache.

***

Araba Ntiamoah filed a report for Thirty Minutes Perspectives on Prime Televisions.

The concluding shot saw her standing in front of the Police Headquarters.

“Following the shocking revelations made by Kweku Sintim in court yesterday, the police swooped down on the premises of Mr. Kwadzo Kudadze, the drug lord who has been using young people in the orphanage as drug pushers. Judge Kuntu issued a bench warrant for his arrest. Evidently, he had been trying to flee the country, but he was arrested by the Airport Police who were on the lookout for him.

It would be recalled that it was the same Kudadze whom Zak Twum waylaid so many months ago. He lodged a complaint that Zak Twum held him at gunpoint and stole his car and money. It was in this car that Zak Twum had an accident and was arrested. We were informed by the police that there was a suitcase full of cocaine in the car. The police also arrested a young man called Tawiah, who was first on the scene of the accident with his father. Tawiah is alleged to have taken the suitcase of money from the boot and fled.

Policemen found a stash of cocaine hidden in a secret underground room on Mr. Kudadze’s premises. This means that the charges of kidnapping and robbery levelled against Zak Twum for abducting Kudadze and taking his car would be reviewed. Presumably, it is now evident that Zak Twum might have had a good reason for his act on Mr. Kudadze.

We also saw Mr. and Mrs. Acquah here, and they’re inconsolable about the horrible news that their son, Sammy Acquah, was murdered by his own twin brother out of greed and hatred. Evidently, they cannot understand why Kwadwo Pamfo could have identified himself and joined them. But he is still their only son now, and they’re here to lend their support to him even as they mourn the cruel murder of Sammy Acquah.

Proceedings so far at the court have painted a terrible picture about how the children suffered at the Sasam Orphanage, and have brought to light the plight of children living in orphanages. Serious questions have now been raised about the level of supervision and control of these institutions. Zak Twum, the boy whom everybody hated so much, has slowly but surely touched the heart of everybody. There are still serious charges against him.

He would have to answer for his assault on the Director of the orphanage. He is also alleged to have set fire to one wing of the orphanage, resulting in the death of an eight-year old Maa Afia. The question is: are we in for another shocking surprise? The trial resumes tomorrow, and our cameras would be there to bring you proceedings as they unfold. For now, the furore surrounding the trial of the beast has heightened, but for all the wrong reasons.

Zak Twum’s evil involvement has turned out to be a horrible twist in a horrendous drama of false accusation and the victim of Kwadwo Pamfo’s evil and warped mind. For now, most of us might be reviewing the drafts we held initially about this beast who is turning out to be a most wonderful young man instead. For Perspectives, this is Araba Ntiamoah reporting.”

Aaron Ansah-Agyeman, The Trial Of The Beast, Aaron Ansah-Agyeman, The Trial Of The Beast, Aaron Ansah-Agyeman, The Trial Of The Beast, Aaron Ansah-Agyeman, The Trial Of The Beast, Aaron Ansah-Agyeman, The Trial Of The Beast, Aaron Ansah-Agyeman, The Trial Of The Beast.

THE TRIAL OF THE BEAST :: CHAPTER 11

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