The 22-year-old carpenter who confessed to robbing Ama Brema Busia, a retired public servant, of various amounts of money in his recent robbery attack was yesterday handed a 25-year jail term.
The accused, Paul Afari, and two others—Godsway Nutakor and Nana Yaw Asare, currently at large—are alleged to have on March 22, 2015 at about 8am at Abelemkpe, a suburb of Accra, robbed the said complainant of cash sums of $35,500, €3,000, £300 and GH¢25,000.
Making his first appearance in a court presided over by Justice Francis Obiri, who was sitting with additional responsibility as a Circuit Court judge, the accused pleaded guilty to the charges of conspiracy and robbery.
He told the court that he had GH¢16,000 as his share of the money from the robbery and used same to buy a motorbike.
In sentencing Paul, the trial judge said the accused was a first time offender but the amount involved in the robbery was colossal.
He stated that considering the time of the robbery, the accused did not deserve any mercy and sentenced Paul to 15 years for the charge of conspiracy and 25 years for robbery, both to run concurrently.
He also ordered the investigator and the registrar of the court to sell the motorbike at a public auction and give the proceeds to the complainant.
Earlier, Chief Inspector Eddie Afful, who was holding brief for ACP Moses Atibilla, said the society was not safe for anybody in view of the rampant incidents of robbery in the society.
He added that “when such people are brought before you, you have to deal with them severely.”
However, George Asamanney, counsel for the accused, prayed the court to deal leniently with Paul because he did not waste the time of the court, since he pleaded guilty straight away.
ACP Moses Atibilla said Godsway was a former house help to Ama Busia and that on the said date at about 7:20am, the complainant left home to attend church service at Calvary Methodist at Adabraka.
The prosecutor said soon after Ama left, the houseboy, one Simon Tawiah, heard a knock at the main gate and that upon opening it he saw Paul and Yaw standing at the gate.
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