Ebenezer Kwayisi, a mason apprentice charged for abetting the murder of Professor Emmanuel Yaw Benneh, a law lecturer at the University of Ghana has been jailed for 30 years by the High Court in Accra.
Kwayisi, aka, Junior is also to serve his sentence in hard labour after he pleaded guilty upon entering into an agreement with the State under the Plea Bargaining law for a lesser punishment.
The 25-year-old (as at 2020) Mason Apprentice was committed to stand trial for abetment of crime to wit murder following the death of prime suspect James Nana Womba, in Police custody, who was the house boy of the late Prof. Benneh.
But, following the Plea Bargaining agreement with the State, the High Court (Criminal Division) presided over by Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh convicted him on his own plea and sentenced him to 30 years in hard labour.
Prof. Benneh murder: Mason apprentice jailed 30 years in hard labour
By Starrfm.com.gh- March 20, 2024
Ebenezer Kwayisi, a mason apprentice charged for abetting the murder of Professor Emmanuel Yaw Benneh, a law lecturer at the University of Ghana has been jailed for 30 years by the High Court in Accra.
Kwayisi, aka, Junior is also to serve his sentence in hard labour after he pleaded guilty upon entering into an agreement with the State under the Plea Bargaining law for a lesser punishment.
The 25-year-old (as at 2020) Mason Apprentice was committed to stand trial for abetment of crime to wit murder following the death of prime suspect James Nana Womba, in Police custody, who was the house boy of the late Prof. Benneh.
But, following the Plea Bargaining agreement with the State, the High Court (Criminal Division) presided over by Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh convicted him on his own plea and sentenced him to 30 years in hard labour.
EIB Network Legal Affairs Correspondent, Murtala Inusah, reports that the initial charge of abetment carries a life sentence if proven.
But his agreement with the State under the Plea Bargaining law, resulted in the 30 years jail term, which is a lesser punishment.
Professor Benneh was murdered at his residence at Agyriganor in 2020.
The Police had initially held two suspects, namely, Ebenezer Kwayisi and Opambour Agya Badu Nkansah for their involvement in the murder of the law lecturer, following the death of the prime suspect, James Nana Womba, in Police custody, who was the house boy of the late Prof. Benneh.
Akosua Benneh-Akuffo, the complainant, according to the Prosecution, was the niece of the late Prof Benneh, whilst James Nana Womba, the prime suspect, now deceased, was a cleaner in the deceased’s house at Agyiringanor.
Background
The Prosecution said Womba’s accomplice, Ebenezer Kwayisi, was a mason apprentice, residing at Kasoa.
It said, that on September 12, 2020, at about 0800 hours, the deceased was found lying dead in a pool of blood in a corridor leading to his bedroom.
The prosecution said the deceased was lying in a prone position with his hands tied behind him with a white rope and his legs also tied with a green rope just below the knees.
The prosecution said examination on the body of the victim revealed multiple marks of assault on the face, with a cloth partly inserted in his mouth.
The facts state that, the Police found on the scene a hand glove, a white rope with blood stains, and blood stains on the walls.
The prosecution said, the Police Crime Scene Management Team examined the scene and lifted a visible blood-tainted thumb impression on the wall close to where the victim’s body lay.
Prosecution said on September 21, 2020, a post-mortem examination was conducted on the deceased’s body and the pathologist gave the immediate cause of death as, “Asphyxiation, Strangulation and suspected homicide.”
It said, that on September 13, 2020, James Nana Womba, now deceased, was arrested for investigation and his fingerprints were taken and sent to the Finger Print Section of CID Headquarters for examination.
The prosecution said the result from the headquarters indicated the fingerprints captured at the crime scene were identical to those of Womba.
Womba, according to the Prosecution, confessed to the crime during investigations and mentioned Nkansah and Kwayisi as his accomplices who were later arrested.
It said investigations revealed that during the month of August 2020, Womba contacted his accomplices and hatched a plan to murder the victim in his house, so he recruited a gang to execute the plan.
The Prosecution said two weeks later, the deceased, Womba had a change of mind and contacted Kwayisi to assist him execute the plan.
The Prosecution told the Court that Kwayisi agreed and visited Womba and both discussed in detail how the act was going to be carried out and on September 10, 2020, the accused persons allegedly went to the victim’s house and executed their plan by killing the Professor.
