Tarkwa: A 24-year-old illegal miner, who stabbed an Okada rider to death with a pair of scissors and robbed his motorbike, has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment with hard labour by the Tarkwa Circuit Court in the Western Region.
According to Ghana News Agency, Jacob Dari, alias Jaybad, received his sentence from the presiding judge Mrs. Hathia Ama, after he pleaded guilty to the offence of robbery. Detective Police Chief Inspector Adams Mumuni told the court that Dari is a resident of Patase, near Samreboi in the Wassa Amenfi West Municipality.
Chief Inspector Mumuni explained that on May 1, 2025, the convict attended the May Day celebration in Samreboi and stayed there for three days. On May 5, 2025, Dari went to Patakro, a community in the same municipality, and met his friend Justice Awiah, who is 18 years old and now deceased. Dari arranged with Awiah to pick him up at 1600 hours to Patase for a fee of GHS200.
The court heard that the deceased arrived at Dari’s place around 1830 hours on an unregistered Haojin motorbike valued at GHS16,000, and they set off to Patase. When they reached Amoaku, near Samreboi, around 2100 hours, Dari, armed with a pair of scissors, stabbed Awiah in the back, specifically in the right ribs area, while the motorbike was in motion, causing both to fall off.
Dari then abandoned Awiah, who was lying in a pool of blood, and rode off on the motorbike to Patase. According to prosecution, the deceased attempted to return to Amoaku for treatment but collapsed by the road and passed away about 200 meters from where the incident occurred.
On May 6, 2025, around 7:00 hours, the convict, who had made his way to Ohiampenika, was arrested by the neighborhood watch committee following news of the incident. He led them to Patase, where the motorbike was found and retrieved. An enraged mob stormed Ohiampenika community intending to take the law into their own hands, but the police acted swiftly and rescued Dari, taking him to the Samreboi police station to aid investigations.
Dari confessed in his investigation caution statement that he killed the deceased and stole the unregistered Haojin motorbike. Detective Police Chief Inspector Mumuni added that in respect to the charge of murder, a duplicate docket would be prepared and forwarded to the Attorney General’s office for study and advice.