PLEEBO, Maryland – Police in Maryland have sent five persons to court over the March 25 murder of high school student Mordeccial Nyemah that triggered riots in Maryland.
According to the police charge sheet, charges against Moses Malmah, Roland Appleton, Francis Clarke, Daniel Wesseh, and Alice Davis include criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and murder.
The prime suspect, Malmah, already admitted to murdering Nyemah, who worked as a commercial motorcyclist. Malmah said he hired Nyemah to transport goods for him before attacking him along with others. Malmah apparently knew his victim, and both were staying at a house belonging to Nyemah’s father.
In a confession to police recorded on video, Malmah accused Appleton of being involved in what appears to have been a ritualistic killing. Malmah said Appleton extracted the ears, fingers, and blood from Nyemah’s corpse after the motorcyclist was murdered along the Maryland-Grand Kru highway in Gbolobo-Bessiken, Pleebo Sodoken Statutory District.
Following the confession, police launched a manhunt and arrested individuals in different locations across the region. Clarke was arrested in Maryland while Wesseh was nabbed in River Gee for having hired the alleged killers. Davis was picked up in Maryland by the joint security.
All have been transferred to Grand Gedeh after prosecutors requested a change of venue. The Fourth Judicial Circuit Court granted the request.
Thomas K. Nyemah, a cousin of the deceased and a youth leader in Pleebo, spoke with The Bush Chicken in a phone interview where he thanked the security team for arresting the suspects. He called on rights groups to join his family to ensure that they receive justice for the death of their relative.
“I believe we, as a family, will get justice,” he added. “Even though it will not bring back his life, [it] will serve as [a] warning to others.”
The ritualistic killing of the motorcyclist led to the three days of violent protest in Pleebo and Harper. Rioters vandalized the ground floor of the Harper Central Prison and set important documents and equipment on fire. Authorities reported that 91 inmates escaped as a result. Rioters also burned the home of House Speaker Bhofal Chambers in Pleebo and the only utility vehicle that belonged to police in the county.
Featured photo by Gbatemah Senah
