The High Court in Accra has sentenced one Otis Kwadwo Antwi, a driver to life imprisonment after he was found guilty for the murder of a 34-year-old welder, Emmanuel Okai at Mpohor.
A seven-member jury panel on Friday, November 22, 2024, returned a unanimous guilty verdict against the accused after full trial.
With the decision of the jury bound on the Court, the presiding Judge, Justice El-Freda Dankyi, sentenced him to life imprisonment by the law.
The prosecution led by Sefakor Batse, a Principal State Attorney (PSA), had called seven witnesses whose testimonies eventually secured the conviction of the accused.
Both the Prosecution and the defence lawyers had previously addressed the jury on their respective arguments.
It was the case of the State Prosecutor, Sefakor Batse, the PSA to the jury that, the accused, considering the gory injuries he inflicted on the deceased, “clearly intended to cause the death of the accused.”
She said, the harm was not accidentally inflicted, but “clearly done intentionally to ensure that the victim will die.”
The PSA said the deceased was “slashed with a sharp object at his side, leading to his organs spilling out.”
Sefakor Batse said, there were cuts all over his face and body and “there was evidence that he had been dragged on the road over a distance.”
She said, the “horrible” nature of the slash on the deceased body “was surely intended to cause death and nothing else.”
Defence case
Counsel for the accused (now convict), Akwasi Opoku AGYEMANG who was holding Joe Debrah Esq..‘s brief said what the prosecution had done was “to raise suspicions and speculations but not credible evidence which should lead the jury to return a verdict of Guilty on the Accused.”
He said the key aspects of the prosecution’s case had been left hanging by the thread on suspicions and speculations when “they should be incontrovertible” and lead the jury to “conclusively determine that the Accused person was there with the deceased and killed him.
Counsel said, that the standard of proof the prosecution is by “statute required to present to you (jury) in proving the guilt of the Accused should, beyond reasonable doubt, lead to the guilt of the accused.”
“The so-called lies and inconsistencies they accuse the Accused person of must not absolve them from their statutorily-mandated duty to proffer evidence leading to only an irresistible conclusion,” Counsel told the jury.
Summing up
Justice El-Freda Dankyi, also summed up the trial for the jury while reminding them of the position of, the elements that ought to be proven by the prosecution to secure convictions and all necessary evidence before the court on the matter.
The judge also took time to direct the jury on the implications of their verdict and the binding effect, that it will have on the families of the accused and the deceased as well as the larger community.
The accused was charged with murder contrary to section 46 of Act 29 and his plea was taken on March 10, 2021, and the jury was empanelled.
On April 14, 2021, both the Prosecution and Defence addressed the court and the jury before the Prosecution called seven witnesses to establish their case.
Brief facts
The convict, Otis Kwadwo Antwi, is a driver who resides at Mataheko near Michel Camp, Tema.
The deceased, Emmanuel Okai also known as Yaw Amoah alias ‘Yaw Home Use’, was a 35-year-old auto sprayer and a car dealer.
According to the Prosecution, on June 6, 2015, the deceased asked the complainant in the case to release his unregistered 2010 model of a Toyota Rav 4 vehicle which he had displayed for sale, to him to be sold to a buyers at Takoradi.
The Prosecution stated that the complainant released the vehicle together with its documents to the document to deceased to facilitate the deal in Takoradi.
It added that the deceased later informed his friend, also a welder that he was travelling to Takoradi with someone to show the complainant’s Toyota RAV 4 vehicle to an expatriate customer.
But that was the last time anyone heard from the deceased.
Abandoned mutilated corpse
It was the case that his “mutilated body was found abandoned” on a section of the road between Awunakrom and Mporhor with “severe injuries indicating that he had been dragged over a distance.”
There was also a gaping hole on the right side of his upper body around the ribs.
His NHIS card, Ecobank debit card, driver’s license and other documents were found on him.
The Prosecution also indicated that a backpack which contained his clothes, a pair of canvas shoes and some cash were also found with part of a revolver found nearby under a bamboo grove.
However, the Toyota Rav 4 vehicle was not found.
Post mortem
A post-mortem examination according to the prosecution, gave the cause of the death as “severe haemorrhage due to multiple lacerations.”
Further investigations later revealed that on June 5, 2015, one Peter Amissah also a sprayer who worked in the same shop as the deceased, witnessed the deceased’s discussion with the Toyota RAV 4 vehicle owner for his customers who were white men in Takoradi.
Vehicle recovery
It said, that further investigations conducted by the police eventually led to the recovery of the Toyota Rav 4 vehicle, which was in the possession of Foster Adjei.
It said, “The vehicle had been sold to him by one Joseph Osei, a businessman and car dealer in Kumasi for 74,000.00 Cedis.
The said Joseph Osei then revealed that he bought the vehicle from the accused who was eventually arrested.
Admission, claims
The accused admitted selling the vehicle to Joseph at 50,000 cedis and the unregistered Toyota Rav 4 vehicle, when found was registered with registration number GN3116-15.
The prosecution said, the accused in his cautioned statement to the police, that the accused made several claims.
His first claim was that the deceased handed over the vehicle to him to use for a while and eventually gave him (accused) permission to take it to Kumasi in the company of one Bernard who was introduced to him (accused) by the deceased.
Again, he (accused) claimed that he called the deceased to inform him about the offer made on the vehicle and “the deceased gave him the go-ahead to accept the 50,000 cedis
He claimed the receipt was prepared on June 24, 2016, and the money was handed over to the deceased on their return.
“Investigations, however, revealed that Emmanuel Okai’s corpse was discovered on June 7, 2015, way before the accused’s alleged call to him for confirmation about the purchase price, as well as the date of the purported receipt.
His claim also that he had met with the deceased and handed over the 50,000 cedis, being the purchase price of the vehicle to him was not consistent.
The accused was identified after his arrest subsequently.
The accused was therefore charged with the murder of Emmanuel Okine contrary to section 46 of the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29).
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Murtala Inusah
