Stacy Offei Darko’s Demise: Dr Obeng-Andoh, cleaner remanded

Dr Dominic Kwame Obeng-Andoh, the Proprietor of Obengfo Hospital at Weija, was on, Tuesday, remanded into Police custody over the death of Stacy Offei Darko, the Deputy Chief Executive officer of the National Entrepreneurship Innovation Programme (NEIP).

The 49-year-old presently unlicensed medical practitioner, is alleged to have performed a surgery on Ms Offei Darko, whose office operates from the Jubilee House, the seat of the Presidency.

Facing a charge of murder, Dr Obeng-Andoh is also on admission at the Police Hospital over a medical condition.

His plea is yet to be taken by the Accra District Court, presided by Ms Afua G. Sackey, which ordered his remand.

With him in the dock was Edward Amponsah, a cleaner at the hospital, who is being held for impersonation.

Amponsah’s plea was preserved and he was remanded into custody by the Court.

The two accused persons are expected to appear again on June 12.

The Court declined a bail application put in by Obeng Andoh’s three-member legal team, led by Mr Martin Kpebu, saying it did not have jurisdiction although all the offences were bailable.

It, however, directed the defence counsels to repeat their bail application at the High Court.

One of Defence counsels, Mr Jonathan Dzaisu, who prayed for bail recounted that the facts as presented by the Prosecution did not support the charge on the sheet.

Mr Dzaisu said the narration was also not what actually transpired.

The Counsel said Obeng-Andoh was a qualified medical practitioner, who had practised for years, and due to his hard work, he had expanded his medical facilities to take care of Ghanaians across the country.

Mr Dzaisu said Dr Obeng-Andoh had a medical condition and since his arrest he had not been able to see his specialist, however, his condition was being managed at the Police Hospital.

He, therefore, prayed the Court to order the Police to send him to his specialist so he would be able to stand trial.

Prosecuting, Detective Chief Inspector Simon Apiorsornu opposed to the bail application, saying the investigations had just commenced.

According to Chief Inspector Apiorsornu, if the accused persons were granted bail, they would interfere with investigations.

The Prosecution said in addition to the Police Hospital, the Police was ready to send Dr Obeng-Andoh to any facility of his choice within the jurisdiction.

The facts as narrated by Prosecution said the complainant, Nana Akosua Animah, was the mother of Ms Offei Darko, aged 37. She resides at Michel Camp, Tema.

On May 20, this year, Stacy went to Dr Obeng-Andoh’s Hospital for a Liposuction and Fat Transfer Surgery, but she died at about 1600 hours, the following day.

On May 22, based on the orders of Dr Obeng-Andoh, Amponsah sent the body to three different mortuary facilities, but the body was rejected with the reason that her relative must be present before she could be accepted in those morgues.

Amponsah, subsequently, sent the body to the Saint Gregory Hospital Mortuary, at Buduburam, where he falsely presented himself to the Morgue attendant as the biological brother of Stacy and thus authorised that the body be embalmed.

The body was then stored in the morgue without the knowledge of Stacy’s actual relatives or the Police.

Her family, however, got wind of the incident on May 24, and suspecting foul play, they reported the matter to the Police.

When the Police proceeded to the morgue and inspected the body; it found multiple surgery fresh scars on some of her parts.

The body was, therefore, transferred to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Mortuary for autopsy and the suspects were later picked up by the Police, the Prosecution said.