The Court of Appeal has acquitted and discharged Yaw Asante Agyekum, who was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2010 together with notorious armed robber Ataa Ayi, who was jailed for 160 years.
Agyekum was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2010 after being linked to the notorious armed robber, who received a 160-year sentence.
Originally taken into custody in 2002, Agyekum was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, accused of working as a mechanic for Ataa Ayi’s criminal gang, which operated across Accra in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Ataa Ayi and his crew were convicted of multiple counts of robbery. Agyekum, however, appealed the sentence, with his lawyers arguing that the prosecution was unable to link their client to any of the crimes.
Upon appeal, the Court of Appeal agreed with Agyekum’s lawyers, who had no legal representation at the time of his conviction, and thus set aside the conviction.
The three-member panel of Justice Aboagye Tanoh, Justice Stephen Oppong, and Justice Janapare Bartels Kodwo noted that the prosecution failed to ‘give enough evidence to warrant conviction and sentence.’
Lawyer for exonerated Yaw Asante Agyekum, George Bernard Shaw, describes the court’s decision as “orgasmic” after his client was released.
Exonerated Yaw Asante Agyekum, the mechanic who was wrongly convicted in 2002 and sentenced to 35 years in prison for his alleged association with Ataa Ayi, also said he feels happy.
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