Accra: A mother of two, Lydia Aboagye, has been jailed and sentenced to life imprisonment by the High Court in Accra after being found guilty of murder. Her conviction followed a full trial, with the seven-member jury returning a 5-2 majority verdict, which is sufficient under Section 46 of Act 29, as amended by the Criminal and Other Offences (Amendment) Act, 2023 (Act 1101). The convict was charged with killing her husband, Kweku Gyasi, following a misunderstanding in 2021.
According to Ghana Web, the prosecution, led by Christabel Selma Anafure, a Senior State Attorney, called three witnesses, while Lydia Aboagye, led by Rita Kunkuti Ali, testified herself and called her mother as her only witness. The jury found her guilty of murder, returning a 5-2 majority verdict before Her Ladyship Justice Marie-Louise Simmons convicted her. On July 30, a day before the legal vacation, Justice Simmons summed up the case for the jury, who returned their verdict after 39 minutes of deliberation. The Forelady announced the 5-2 guilty verdict against the accused.
The convict, given an opportunity to address the Court prior to sentencing, said, 'I have nothing to say.' Justice Simmons, upon passing sentence, stated, 'With the jury having returned a majority verdict of 5-2 of guilty, the accused is hereby convicted under Section 46 of Act 29, as amended by the Criminal and Other Offences (Amendment) Act, 2023 (Act 1101).' She added, 'The accused is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment,' and noted that the convict and her counsel have one month from July 30, 2026, to file an appeal.
The brief facts of the case reveal that the complainant is a driver's mate and owns a property at Omanjor-Dwenewoho, adjacent to California School. Lydia Aboagye, a petty trader and tenant in the complainant's house, lived in a single room with her husband and their two children. On November 3, 2021, a misunderstanding ensued between Aboagye and the deceased, leading to her stabbing him in the left rib with a broken Coca-Cola bottle during the quarrel.
The facts stated that after blood started oozing from the wound, Aboagye locked the wounded and bleeding Gyasi in the room and disposed of the broken bottle in the bush about 150 meters away. At approximately 5:30 a.m., the complainant's daughter informed him of an unusual noise from Aboagye's room. The complainant forced the door open and discovered Gyasi in a pool of blood. Neighbors assisted in rushing the deceased to the Ga West Municipal Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Aboagye was later arrested by neighbors while attempting to clean the blood-stained floor and handed over to the police.