Musician cries out upon hearing 35 years jail term for robbery

A budding musician, Benjamin Aboakye, alias Rapture, cried out  in court :  “Oh I am dead, when will I come back to take care of my children”,  when he  was sentenced to 35 years imprisonment for robbery.

His counterpart, a driver, Amos Tetteh, was sentenced to 10 years for helping him. Their sentences were handed down by an Adenta Circuit Court, presided over by Her Honour, Sedinam Awo Balokah.

This followed  an over two-year trial after the convicts, then accused, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit crime and robbery.

At the judgment hearing on January 24, 2024, the convicts pleaded  with the court for mercy. The judge convicted and sentenced Aboakye to 20 years on count one (conspiracy) and 35 years on count two (robbery). His sentence is to run concurrently.

Tetteh on the hand fainted upon being handed his sentencing of 10 years on count three (abetment). He, however, regained consciousness shortly after.

According to the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Maxwell Lanyo, there is another person involved named; Ben who is at large.

Fact of the case
Presenting the case before the court, the prosecutor said the complainant, Prince Oduro, is a banker who lives at Pantang P n T, Accra while the convicts, Aboagye and Tetteh live at Madina, Firestone and Pantang Hospital, respectively.

He added that on November 11, 2021, about 1.30 a.m., Aboakye and Ben (at large) attacked the complainant at his home with a pistol and made away with a Samsung television valued GH₵ 24,000, HP Desktop computer valued GH₵10,800, two PlayStations valued GH₵6,000 ,22,000 US dollars plus GH₵6,000 cash.

The prosecutor said shortly after they left, the complainant called for police assistance and when the Adenta Divisional Patrol

Team were on their way to the scene, they met Tetteh on board his Toyota Vitz car with registration number GE 130-20 with the booty on board. 

He was arrested and the complainant identified the items as those stolen from his room. When Tetteh was interrogated, he mentioned Aboakye as one of the people who called on him to convey the booty to Madina.

During interrogation, Aboakye kept calling Tetteh for the items”, he said. 

According to the prosecutor, as a result, a team of policemen were sent to Madina with Tetteh and he identified Aboakye, who was waiting to collect the booty, leading to his arrest.  After investigation, they were charged with the offences and arraigned.