Accra: The Court of Appeal Thursday acquitted and discharged Yaw Asante Agyekum, an alleged accomplice of the notorious armed robber Ataa Ayi, who was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Agyekum was remanded in 2002 and sentenced in 2010, meaning he has spent 23 years in prison alongside Ataa Ayi, who received a 160-year sentence.
According to Ghana News Agency, Agyekum, who was reportedly Ataa Ayi's mechanic, served 15 years of his sentence after being convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. His lawyers appealed the sentence, arguing that the prosecution could not link their client to any of the crimes. The Court of Appeal agreed, noting that at the time of Agyekum's conviction, he lacked legal representation, leading to the conviction being set aside.
The three-member panel, comprising Justice Aboagye Tanoh, Justice Stephen Oppong, and Justice Janapare Bartels Kodwo, emphasized that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence to justify Agyekum's conviction and sentence. Agyekum was arrested in 2001 while attending church, just a month after his wife became pregnant.
Throughout his trial and incarceration, Agyekum maintained that his only connection to Ataa Ayi was through his professional work as a mechanic. Now free, Agyekum expressed gratitude for regaining his freedom and hopes to rebuild the life that was taken from him over two decades ago.
Ataa Ayi, born Raymond Ayeetey, and his crew were convicted on multiple counts of robbery, having terrorized the streets of Accra in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
