A man arrested following a murder in Marsa confessed to investigators that he had fatally stabbed his compatriot, a court heard on Saturday. 

Amo Frank Kwaku, 25, from Ghana, confessed to the murder as he was being arrested shortly after the Thursday night murder. 

Despite the alleged confession, Kwaku pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges when he was arraigned on Saturday. 

23-year-old Isaac Kwabena Kyere was stabbed to death after a fight broke out in Marsa on Triq it-Tigrija late on Thursday night. He was found face-up, unconscious in a pool of blood and pronounced dead at the scene.  

The suspect was subsequently tracked down to a house in Triq Azzopardi at around 1.30am on Friday, but tried to escape arrest by running over rooftops.

He was eventually apprehended and the murder weapon, believed to be a knife, was found under a tree in Triq il-Jum. 

Kwaku, who holds an Italian ID card and works in the construction industry, was arraigned in court on Saturday afternoon.

Police inspector Kurt Zahra told the court that the accused had confessed during his arrest and later confirmed his confession during his interrogation at the police headquarters. 

He however pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him, including holding the victim against his will, disobeying police orders and carrying a weapon during the commission of the crime.

The murder is the first this year. 

Investigations are ongoing, with duty magistrate Gabriella Vella leading an inquiry. 

Magistrate Montebello upheld a request for the freezing of the accused's assets. No request for bail was made.

Lawyers Anthony Vella and Etienne Savona prosecuted along with inspectors Zahra, Wayne Camilleri and Stacy Attard. 

Lawyer Cynthia Tommassuolo appeared as legal aid.