Man, 33, sentenced to death for offering son as sacrifice

An Accra High Court has sentenced to death a 33-year-old man for throwing his two-year-old son into the sea at Akuma Village, Accra, as a sacrifice in his bid to become rich.

This is after a seven-member jury unanimously returned a verdict of guilty on Prince Acquaye, aka Juu, a food vendor, facing a charge of murder.  Ghana’s Parliament repealed the death penalty days ago, but the new law will apply to new cases, not those pending.

The prosecution said Abigail Nyumor, the complainant, was also a food vendor and the convict’s girlfriend.  

It said they lived together with the deceased, who was their only son.  

The prosecution said in February 2021, the convict told the complainant not to get worried should something happened to their son because they were going to be rich very soon.  

The prosecution said on April 20, 2021, at about 1200 noon, the victim, now deceased, asked the convict to give him money to buy groundnuts.  

It said the convict offered the victim GHC5.00 and the same day, lured the victim to the seaside and threw him into the sea while the complainant was taking a nap.   

The prosecution said the complainant was later awoken by some neighbours, who informed her that the convict had thrown the victim into the sea.  

It said the convict was arrested and the victim rescued and sent to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, but he died the next day.  

The prosecution said preliminary investigations indicated that the convict was initiated into occultism and asked to make a sacrifice.  

The prosecution said the convict chose his son for the sacrifice by throwing him into the cliff at Akuma Village, which is 33 feet above sea level.