Pastor And Retired Soldier Jailed Over Death of Man In Fight Over GH¢50 Note
- A retired military officer and a pastor were convicted of killing a man over a purported counterfeit GH¢50 note
- The suspects who were convicted have been identified as Joseph Abusah and Benjamin Kofi Agbetiafah
- The court took into consideration the six-month period the suspects spent on remand when sentencing them
A retired Military Officer, Joseph Abusah, and a pastor, Benjamin Kofi Agbetiafah, have been convicted by the High Court in Accra for man slaughter over a misunderstanding involving a suspected counterfeit GH¢50 note.
The dispute over the money led to the death of one Solomon Dapaah.
Source: Getty Images
Starr News reported that the two were found guilty after a seven-member jury panel had returned guilty verdicts.
For conspiracy, the jury returned a majority 5-2 verdict, while on the substantive charge of man slaughter, the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict.
They have been sentenced to six months each on both counts, to run concurrently.
The case dates back to March 1, 2018, when Abusah and Agbetiafah encountered Dapaah at a shop run by the latter's money.
The victim bought a bottle of Fanta at GH¢10 and paid with a GH¢50 note.
After the deceased was given change, Agbetiafah's mother suspected that the GH¢50 note was fake and raised an alarm after the deceased had driven off.
The convicts chased after the deceased’s taxi with a Nissan pick-up to a spot at the outskirts of New Abiadjei.
Abusah crossed the deceased’s taxi with the Nissan pickup to prevent him from moving. They beat up the victim, restrained him and took him to a police station.
At the police station, officers directed medical care for Dapaah at the Agbogba Clinic where he died on arrival.
They tied his hands and legs with a nylon rope and sent him to the Agbogba Police station in the bucket of the pickup to lodge a complaint.
The pathologist gave the cause of death as a severe head injury and lynching.
Based on these facts, the 1st and 2nd accused persons were charged with conspiring to cause the death and causing the death of Solomon Dapaah by unlawful harm.
The court also took into consideration the six months the suspects spent on remand and them being first-time offenders.
Court orders deportation of Nigerian over fake cash
In 2025, YEN.com.gh reported that a Nigerian trader was convicted of smuggling large sums of fake CFA Francs currency into Ghana, amounting to over $100,000.
The convict, 55-year-old Aremu Timothy Adegboyega, was deported following an Accra Circuit Court judgement.
Source: YEN.com.gh
