East Legon Accident: Bishop Salifu Amoako's son gets six-month sentence
The Family and Juvenile Court in Accra has sentenced a 16-year-old boy to six months at the Senior Correctional Centre after he rammed into another car in East Legon, killing two people.
The boy, who initially pleaded not guilty to eight counts, including manslaughter, negligently causing harm, dangerous driving, and driving without a licence, later changed his plea to guilty. Presiding over the case, Judge Bernice Mensimah Ackon convicted him based on his own plea.
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The six-month sentence is the maximum punishment prescribed under the Juvenile Justice Act 2003 (Act 653) for a juvenile offender charged with manslaughter.
As part of the sentencing, the juvenile must sign an undertaking not to drive until he turns 18, the legal driving age in Ghana. He is also required to report to probation officers every Friday.
The court fined the boy’s parents, Bishop Salifu Amoako and his wife, GH₵12,000 for failing to properly control their son. They are also required to sign an undertaking to ensure their son’s proper upbringing.
Additionally, Bishop Amoako is ordered to pay for property damages, including a light pole valued at over GH₵8,000, which was destroyed in the crash.
The Prosecution’s case
Assistant State Attorney Ebenezer Yaw Acquah outlined the events leading to the tragic crash. Despite the juvenile’s lack of a driver’s licence, his family had reportedly allowed him to drive their vehicles on multiple occasions.
On October 12, 2024, the family held a birthday party for the boy at an event centre in East Legon. During the party, he asked Linda Bonsu Bempah, a personal assistant tasked with supervising the event, for the keys to his mother’s Jaguar F-Pace Sport car. Linda handed over the keys, and the boy left with a friend to meet others at the A&C Mall.
The group, driving in a convoy of three SUVs, sped through East Legon. At the Dzane-Ashie Road, the juvenile, leading the convoy, recklessly accelerated the Jaguar F-Pace Sport. At a T-junction on Mensah Wood Avenue, he collided with an Acura driven by Joseph Ackah, who had slowed to navigate a turn.
“The collision was violent and destructive, propelling both vehicles across the street and into a wall, destroying an ECG pole in the process,” Mr Acquah told the court.
Both vehicles caught fire almost immediately. The juvenile and his passenger managed to escape, but Ackah and the occupants of his vehicle, including two 12-year-old girls, were trapped.
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Bystanders managed to pull Ackah and a toddler from the burning car, but the two 12-year-old girls could not be rescued and perished in the flames.
Investigations revealed the boy’s reckless driving was far below the standard expected of a competent driver and endangered the lives of road users. The juvenile admitted to taking the keys, picking up his friend, and driving to the A&C Mall before the crash.
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