The Criminal Court “3” of the Accra High Court has sentenced five persons to a total of 70 years imprisonment in hard labour for causing harm to a retired driver at Teshie, a suburb of Accra.
They are Joseph Ashikwei Tigany( driver) Daniel Ashitei, Philip Boye, Nii Armah Agbeko and Nii Agoe Kaatso.
Ashikwei was given 25 years for slashing the throat of Nii Ashiboi Mensah, also known as Nii Santo, at the Teshie Royal Mausoleum, in 2014. The victim has gone blind following injuries he received as a result of Ashikwei’s action.
Ashitei, Boye, and Nii Agbeko would serve 15 years each in prison while Nii Kaatso, 83, was also given a one-month jail term. They were all convicted on the charge of conspiracy to commit crime.
A seven-member jury, comprising six men and a woman, was impanelled by the court presided by Mrs. Justice Mary M.E. Nsenkyire, to go into the case.
Passing sentence, Mrs. Justice Mary Nsenkyire said “The essential ingredients the prosecution needed to prove before you can return a verdict of guilt are that; the harm was caused to the victim, the harm was intentional and unlawful, the harm inflicted on the victim was caused with the use of an offensive weapon and the accused agreed to act together with a common purpose to cause harm to the victim.”
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Mr. Gary Nimako-Marfo, Lead Counsel for the convicts (then accused) pleaded with the court to deal leniently with his clients because they belonged to the same family as the victim (Nii Santo) at Teshie.
He said that for the past seven years, there had been relative peace in the area and that the royal family at Teshie deserved absolute peace to go about their businesses.
But the state prosecution, led by Ms. Hilda Craig, impressed upon the court to critically examine the circumstances of the offence before it.
She said that Nii Santo (victim), who was a driver and breadwinner of his family had become blind, following the attack and the injury inflicted on him.
Ms. Craig said that the actions of the five persons (convicts) were premeditated so they should suffer the consequences.
Presenting the brief facts of the case to the court, Ms. Craig said Nii Mensah, was a retired driver and lived at Teshie Camp 2, while the five convicts were also drivers but resided at Teshie Bush Road.
The court heard that the acting Dzaasetse of Lanshie Quarter, by name Nii Jerry, died, and during preparations for his funeral, a faction belonging to the same Lanshie Quarter, headed by a man, called Nii Kwabotwe, was not in agreement that the deceased (Nii Jerry) should be buried at the Lanshie Royal Mausoleum at Teshie.