He gave me water to sip, and kept strangling me to death – Matilda Amissah-Arthur recounts robbery ordeal

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He gave me water to sip, and kept strangling me to death – Matilda Amissah-Arthur recounts robbery ordeal

Matilda Amissah-Arthur, wife of the late former Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, has given a chilling account of how she was robbed and nearly killed in her bedroom in the wee hours of Tuesday, December 5, 2023.

Giving a testimony, the former Second Lady said on that fateful night, she was awakened by the lights in her room and, upon opening her eyes, found herself face-to-face with a masked man holding a gun.

The intruder, dressed in black with only his eyes visible, ordered her not to move or he would shoot.

“I thought I was dreaming. So I sat on my bed and rubbed my face just to be sure that I wasn’t dreaming. And there he was,” she recounted.

The armed robber demanded money, and Mrs. Amissah-Arthur complied, handing over $2400 meant for renovating her mother's house, €50 of her own money, and all the cedis she had on hand.

Dissatisfied, the robber demanded gold and jewelry. She explained that she does not typically wear jewelry but eventually remembered and surrendered a gold watch, necklace, and earrings.

“He got angry. He turned my room upside down, and of course, he didn’t find money or any jewelry. And then he said, ‘You wasted my time, so I will kill you. But I have to call my boss.’ By this time, he had dragged me from the bed and was hitting my head on the ground,” she narrated.

“He spoke on the phone for a couple of minutes and said, ‘My boss says I should shoot you, but I won’t shoot you, I will strangle you so that you’ll die a slow death and next time you come, you’ll have money.’ So he started strangling me.”

Mrs. Amissah-Arthur described the terrifying moments as the robber strangled her to the point of near-unconsciousness.

She recalled that at one point, she asked for water, and strangely, the robber fetched some but only allowed her a brief sip before resuming the assault.

“I got thirsty at some point and I said, “I am thirsty.” He actually stopped strangling me, went to my fridge for water, opened it, and put it in my mouth, just when I started drinking he snapped it, closed it, and continued strangling me,” she said.

Throughout the ordeal, Mrs Amissah-Arthur said she prayed fervently, asking for God's mercy not only for herself but also for her attacker.

“When you are in the valley of the shadow of death, and an armed robber is holding a gun to your head and strangling you and you are choking, there is nothing you can do. But I realised the one thing I can do is call my God. Not just to help me, but to help him,” she recounted.

Eventually, the former Second Lady passed out and she experienced a profound vision.

According to her, she found herself walking through beautiful streets and gardens, more stunning than any she had ever seen.

In this serene place, she filled a basket with flowers until she felt a hand on her wrist and heard a voice saying, "It is time to go."

Miraculously, she survived the attack.

Meanwhile, the police have already arrested one Yahuza Osumanu for his connection to the incident and several other robberies around Airport, Cantonments, Tesano and Ridge all in Accra.