James Opoku, known to many as Nana Yaw, was found dead in his barbershop at Time Enterprise in New Site on Sunday, June 8, 2025.
His body was discovered after his wife, Christina Mensah, grew worried when her calls went unanswered. Concerned for his well-being, she asked their son, Shadrach, to go to the shop to check on him and also to pick up some pocket money.
When Shadrach arrived, he found the entrance to the barbershop locked from the inside. After knocking and calling for his father without receiving a response, Shadrach managed to enter the shop, where he tragically found his father lying near the entrance.
“There were signs of a struggle,” Shadrach recounted to Connect FM. “He seemed to have crawled several yards from his mattress towards the door.”
Christina explained that her husband had recently been sleeping at the shop to deter thieves. “He’s been doing this for a while now. The shop has been broken into multiple times, so he felt safer staying here at night,” she shared.
When questioned about her husband’s health before his passing, Christina said, “He was healthy and full of life… I can’t comprehend what took him from us.” She also mentioned that their third child had visited Opoku at the barbershop just the night before, on Saturday, June 7.
Authorities are investigating the circumstances around his death.
