Retired soldier, pastor convicted of manslaughter over fake GH¢50 note

An Accra High Court has convicted a retired military officer, Joseph Abusah, and a pastor, Benjamin Kofi Agbetiafah, of conspiracy and manslaughter in connection with the death of 32-year-old Solomon Dapaah.

The conviction followed guilty verdicts by a seven-member jury panel. On the charge of conspiracy, the jury returned a 5–2 majority verdict, while the manslaughter charge attracted a unanimous guilty verdict.

Presiding judge, Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as an additional High Court judge, sentenced the two to six months’ imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently.

Facts of the Case

The court heard that the incident stemmed from a dispute over an alleged fake GH¢50 note on March 1, 2018, at New Abladjei, a suburb of Agbogba.

Abusah (A1), a pensioner, had visited Agbetiafah (A2), a pastor who lived with his mother, Comfort Agbetiafah.

During the visit, the deceased, Solomon Dapaah, drove to the provisions shop operated by A2’s mother in a Nissan Micra taxi (registration number GM 4907-12). He purchased a seven-litre bottle of Fanta for GH¢10 and paid with a GH¢50 note.

After receiving GH¢40 as change, the deceased drove off. However, A2’s mother suspected the GH¢50 note was counterfeit and raised an alarm.

The two accused pursued the deceased in a Nissan pickup (registration number GT 3098-P) driven by Abusah. They intercepted the taxi at the outskirts of New Abladjei, where the vehicle could not proceed further.

The court heard that while the other occupant of the taxi escaped, Dapaah became entangled in a barbed wire fence while attempting to flee.

Abusah and Agbetiafah reportedly pulled him from the fence and, during a struggle, assaulted him until he became unconscious. They then tied his hands and legs with a nylon rope and transported him in the back of the pickup to the Agbogba Police Station to lodge a complaint.

Police officers, upon noticing his swollen face and blood oozing from his mouth, escorted the accused and the victim to the Agbogba Clinic. Dapaah was pronounced dead on arrival.

A post-mortem examination conducted on March 13, 2018, by Supt/Dr Osei Owusu Afriyie at the Police Hospital in Accra determined the cause of death as severe head injury and lynching, classified as an unnatural death.

Mitigation and Sentencing

In his mitigation plea, defence counsel told the court that the convicts “have been consistent in court and never missed a court sitting.”

He submitted that they were first-time offenders, “responsible people,” and had spent more than six months on remand following their arrest on March 1, 2018.

Counsel added that they had complied with bail conditions, including regular reporting to the Agbogba Police Station, and urged the court to consider their personal circumstances.

“We pray the court takes into account the circumstances of the case, and the second accused is a pastor and only just got married. He has an aged mother who is 73 years old,” he said.

State Attorney Yvonne Yaache-Adomako, however, urged the court to weigh the aggravating circumstances alongside the mitigation factors.

“We pray that they get no benefit in taking the prosecution through this arduous and lengthy trial knowing very well what happened on the fateful day,” she submitted.

She further argued that sentencing discretion should consider not only the convicts but also “the family of the deceased and society as well.”

According to her, the punishment must reform the offenders, appease society and serve as a deterrent.
In delivering sentence, Justice Osei Marfo said the court had considered both the mitigation plea and the submissions of the prosecution.

The court took into account the convicts’ conduct throughout the nearly nine-year trial, their consistent attendance in court since their arrest, the six months they spent on remand, their status as first-time offenders, the age of the first accused, and the second accused’s responsibility toward his 73-year-old mother.

While condemning mob justice in no uncertain terms, the court noted the protracted nature of the case and concluded that a concurrent six-month custodial sentence on each count was appropriate.