Charlotte Neequaye-Papafio,12, and Emmanuela Neequaye-Papafio, 7, killed in fire
THREE PERSONS are reported dead in a suspected case of arson where a jealous lover set a family ablaze.
The victims were allegedly doused in petrol and set ablaze while they were asleep in their room in the early hours of Friday March 2, 2012 at Soko near Mamprobi in Accra.
Thirty-seven-year-old Rosemond Allotey and her two daughters, Emmanuela Neequaye-Papafio, 7, and Charlotte Neequaye-Papafio, 12, were severely burnt when the assailant poured petrol on them through their bedroom window and set them on fire.
Interestingly, the bizarre incident was not engineered by a jilted lover this time around, but was said to be in relation to a quarrel between Rosemond’s brother, known only as Nii, and the said runaway arsonist (name withheld) over a woman.
Rosemond was reported to have died moments after arriving at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital’s emergency unit on the same day while her children held on till the next day Saturday March 3, when they died from the burns.
Family sources were speculating that the jealous rival who claimed Nii had snatched his lover, might have caused the harm and ran away.
They revealed that the alleged arsonist had been contemplating the act for about three months now. His first attempt failed as nobody was hurt.
Written inscriptions on the wall indicated that there were warnings of impending danger which the family did not take seriously.
The inscriptions, “I swear Nii is a dead man”, “We can kill you people now” and “This is the last warning”, were considerably alarming enough for the family to have reported the suspect to the police, but they took it for granted.
The tragedy shook the Soko community, throwing it into a state of wailing when residents woke up to the rather gory spectacle which saw mother and daughters burning and groaning while properties worth thousands of cedis were razed to debris.
Rosemond’s family, now living in perpetual fear, called for police protection as they feared they might be attacked again.
The father of the girls lived separately.
The case is being investigated by the Dansoman Police Command.
The Divisional Commander, ACP Paul Awini, who confirmed the incident to the media said his outfit was doing everything under its sleeves to apprehend the culprit and bring him to book.
BY Rocklyn Antonio
