Ghanaian professor Kofi Akamani killed in Illinois; wife held by Jackson County police

Pinned summary · as of 16:45

Dr Kofi Akamani, a Ghanaian academic at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, died from gunfire on Saturday 19 September near Lake Road in Jackson County, Illinois. His wife, Betty Akamani, has since been taken into custody by the county sheriff's office, and investigators say the inquiry has only just begun.

What we know

• Dr Kofi Akamani, a Ghanaian who worked as a professor at Southern Illinois University (SIU) Carbondale in the United States, was fatally shot in Illinois. Reports place the incident on Lake Road in Jackson County, near Carbondale and Murphysboro.
• Betty Akamani, aged 35 and the wife of the dead man, was detained in connection with the killing. Nkonkonsa attributed this to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Onua Online reported that Betty Akamani has been charged with murder, while Nkonkonsa quoted the sheriff's office as saying only that she faces several charges over her alleged part in the shooting. The exact charge has not been aligned across reports, and she is accused, not convicted.
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  Onua Online said Ms Akamani's preliminary hearing is set for 6 October; no other report has given a court date.
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  Nkonkonsa said deputies who responded moved Dr Akamani to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, and that death was declared there; it put the time of the shooting at about 5pm. It gave his age as 48. These details have not been repeated elsewhere.
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  Authorities in Jackson County told Nkonkonsa that the circumstances remain under investigation and the case is at an early stage, with the county ambulance service, the coroner's office and the State's Attorney's office helping.
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  Onua Online said Dr Akamani spent 15 years at the Carbondale campus in the College of Agricultural, Life and Physical Sciences, and that his degrees came from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, the University of Oslo and the University of Idaho. Nkonkonsa, citing the university website, placed him in the Department of Forestry, teaching forest recreation and conservation social science.
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  Onua Online said SIU Carbondale sent condolences to his family, friends, students, colleagues and the wider community.

Why it matters for Ghana

Dr Akamani was Ghanaian-born and trained at KNUST in Kumasi, so his death will be felt by relatives, former classmates and colleagues in Ghana as well as by students in Illinois. Onua Online also noted that he researched forest management with communities in the Ashanti Region during his doctoral work. With the criminal case only beginning, the facts about what happened are still to be established in court.