Man sets lover ablaze, ends up burning to death

A tie-and-dye dealer, identified only as Bismark, who allegedly attempted to kill his lover by setting her ablaze ended up dying in the process.

Bismark, said to be in his 40s, was consumed by the fire he set on his lover, Dora Dunyo, 34.

He was said to have poured petrol on Ms Dunyo while she was asleep in their wooden structure in a house under construction near the Trasacco Valley Estate.

Some of the petrol, however, poured on him and, in his bid to escape from the fire, his body caught fire.

Ms Dunyo is currently on admission at the Burns Centre of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, where she had been referred to by the authorities of the Legon Hospital.

A search party later found Bismark’s unconscious body lying on a manhole in an uncompleted building.

He was pronounced dead when he was sent to the Legon Hospital.

According to Mr Kwame Zownu, Ms Dunyo’s brother, her sister had been living with Bismark for about a year now.

He said there had been occasional misunderstandings between the two.

He said about 1 a.m. on Thursday, February 28, 2013, Bismark allegedly entered the room and began pouring petrol on the sleeping Ms Dunyo and the other items in the room.

In the process of carrying out the act, he said, Ms Dunyo got up and ran out, shouting for help.

“My sister then ran to the house of a pastor, who stood between the two, but Bismark, bent on executing his plan, lit a match and threw it at my sister (already smeared with the petrol), setting her ablaze in the process,” he said.

Mr Zownu said but for the timely intervention of the pastor who poured water the Ms Dunyo, the situation would have been different.    

Not satisfied after setting Ms Dunyo ablaze, he said, Bismark went back to the kiosk where she had been sleeping and set it on fire.

But while the kiosk was burning, the flame caught Bismark, who had petrol on him.

Pastor Ernest Deku, who went to Ms Dunyo’s rescue, corroborated the story.

The Adentan District Police Commander, DSP Stephen Kofi Ahiatafu, confirmed the story to the Daily Graphic but indicated that investigations were still ongoing, since the details were sketchy.

The body of Bismark has been deposited at the Police Hospital morgue awaiting autopsy.

Meanwhile, Mr Zownu has appealed to philanthropists to come to the aid of her sister.

“I am a by-day carpenter and I don’t have money to buy all they are asking for. Ms Dunyo is my only sister and I am appealing for people to come and help me. She had an NHIS card but that, together with her other belongings, got burnt in the kiosk,” he said.

Story by Emmanuel Bonney

Writer’s email: emmanuel.bonney@graphic.com.gh