The High Court in Accra has sentenced one Otis Kwadwo Antwi, a driver, to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of the murder of a 35-year-old spray painter, Emmanuel Okai, in Mpohor.
A seven-member jury panel on Friday, November 22, 2024, returned a unanimous guilty verdict against the accused after a full trial.
With the decision of the jury bound by the Court, the presiding Judge, Justice (Mrs.) El-Freda Dankyi, sentenced him to life imprisonment in accordance with the law.
The prosecution, led by Mrs. 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 defense lawyers had previously addressed the jury on their respective arguments.
It was the case of the State Prosecutor, Mrs. 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 deceased.”
She said the harm was not accidentally inflicted, but “clearly done intentionally to ensure that the victim would die.”
The PSA said the deceased was “slashed with a sharp object at his side, leading to his organs spilling out.”
Mrs. Batse said there were cuts all over the 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’s body “was surely intended to cause death and nothing else.”
Defense’s 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 a 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 provide evidence leading to only one irresistible conclusion,” Counsel told the jury.
Summing Up
Justice El-Freda Dankyi, on Friday, November 22, summed up the trial for the jury while reminding them of the position of the law, the elements that ought to be proven by the prosecution to secure a conviction, 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 both 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. A jury was empaneled.
On April 14, 2021, both the prosecution and defense addressed the court and the jury before the prosecution called seven witnesses to establish their case.
Brief Facts
The brief facts of the case were that the accused (now convict), Otis Kwadwo Antwi, is a driver who resides at Mataheko near Michel Camp, Tema.
Meanwhile, the deceased, Emmanuel Okai, also known as Yaw Amoah alias ‘Yaw Home Use,’ was a 35-year-old auto spray painter who doubled as a car dealer.
The prosecution narrated that on June 6, 2015, the deceased called the complainant in the matter to release his (complainant’s) unregistered 2010 model Toyota Rav 4 vehicle, which he had put up for sale, to him (the deceased) as he had found buyers in Takoradi.
The prosecution explained that the deceased also informed his very good friend, who was a welder, that he (deceased) was traveling to Takoradi with someone to show the complainant’s Toyota Rav 4 vehicle to a white man who was the customer of his car dealer friend.
It stated that on that same day, the complainant had the vehicle, together with its documents, released to the deceased, and the deceased traveled to Takoradi in the company of another person.
The prosecution stated that it was the last time anyone heard from or saw the deceased.
Abandoned Mutilated Corpse
It was the case of the prosecution that his “mutilated corpse was found abandoned” on a section of the road between Awunakrom and Mpohor with “severe injuries, which indicated that he had been dragged over a distance.”
The prosecution narrated that there was also a gaping hole on the right side of his upper body, around the ribs.
While his NHIS card, Ecobank Debit Card, driver’s license, and other documents were also found on him.
The prosecution also indicated that a backpack containing 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
It is the case of the prosecution that a post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as “severe hemorrhage due to multiple lacerations.”
The prosecution stated that investigations revealed that on June 5, 2015, one Peter Amissah, also a sprayer who worked in the same shop with the deceased, and a witness, was with the deceased when the accused came to the shop and had a discussion about the need to get a Toyota Rav 4 vehicle for his customers who were white men in Takoradi.
The prosecution said the deceased then told the accused about the Rav 4 belonging to the complainant in the case.
Vehicle Recovery
It said further investigations conducted by the police eventually led to the recovery of the Toyota Rav 4 vehicle, which was in the possession of one Foster Adjei.
It said, “The vehicle had been sold to Adjei by one Joseph Osei, a businessman and car dealer in Kumasi for GH¢74,000.”
The said Joseph Osei then revealed that he bought the vehicle from the accused, who was eventually arrested.
Admission and Claims
The accused admitted selling the vehicle to Joseph Osei at GH¢50,000, 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, 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 (the accused) permission to take it to Kumasi in the company of one Bernard, who was introduced to him (the accused) by the deceased.
Again, he (the 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 GH₵50,000.”
He claimed that the receipt was prepared on June 24, 2016, and the money was handed over to the deceased on their return.
Interestingly, “Investigations, however, revealed that Emmanuel Okai’s corpse was discovered on June 7, 2015, way before the accused’s alleged claim that he called him for confirmation about the purchase price, as well as the date of the purported receipt.”
His claim that he had met with the deceased and handed over the GH₵50,000, being the purchase price of the vehicle, to him was not consistent.
The accused was identified after his arrest and was subsequently charged with the murder of Emmanuel Okai, contrary to section 46 of the Criminal Offenses Act 1960 (Act 29).
