A Ghanaian academic based in the United States has died after being shot in Illinois, where he worked as a lecturer at Southern Illinois University (SIU).
The victim, identified as 48-year-old Kofi Akamani, was shot near Lake Road between Murphysboro and Carbondale at about 5 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO).
Deputies who responded to reports of the shooting found Dr. Akamani and transported him to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, where he was pronounced dead from injuries sustained in the incident.
Dr. Akamani was a professor in SIU Carbondale’s Department of Forestry, where he taught courses in forest recreation and conservation social science, according to the university.
Following investigations, the JCSO said his wife, 35-year-old Betty Akamani, had been arrested in connection with the shooting and faces multiple charges over her alleged involvement.
The investigation is ongoing, with authorities yet to provide further details about the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The Jackson County Ambulance Service, Jackson County Coroner’s Office and Jackson County State’s Attorney’s Office assisted with the investigation.
The sheriff’s office said no further information would be released at this time.
Dr. Akamani began his academic journey in Ghana at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Development Planning, specialising in Urban Planning.
He initially planned to pursue further studies in Urban Planning but was advised to focus on sustainable development.
He later studied at the Centre for Development and the Environment (SUM) at the University of Oslo in Norway, earning a Master of Philosophy degree in 2006.
He subsequently obtained a PhD in Natural Resources from the University of Idaho in the United States.
During his doctoral studies, Dr. Akamani spent six months in Ghana researching the impact of collaborative forest management on the social-ecological resilience of two forest-dependent communities in the Ashanti Region.
