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 for the crime were identified as Joseph Abusah and Benjamin Kofi Agbetiafah
- The court also took into consideration the six months the suspects spent on remand when sentencing them
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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 a person named Solomon Dapaah.
Source: Getty Images
Starr News reported that the two were found guilty after a seven-member jury panel had returned guilty verdicts.
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 money was fake and raised an alarm after the deceased had driven off.
How was Solomon Dapaah killed?
The convicts reportedly chased after the deceased’s taxi with a Nissan pick-up to a spot at the outskirts of New Abiadjei.
Abusah blocked the deceased’s taxi with the pickup to prevent him from moving, before beating him up, restraining him and taking him to a police station.
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.
At the police station, officers directed medical care for Dapaah at the Agbogba Clinic, where Dapaah died on arrival.
The pathologist gave the cause of death as a severe head injury and lynching.
For the sentencing, the court also took into consideration the six months the suspects spent on remand and their being first-time offenders.
Source: Facebook
Counterfeit cash concerns in Ghana
The circulation of banknotes is the responsibility of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), but there have been several instances of counterfeit cash being smuggled into circulation.
Early in 2025, National Security detailed the discovery of official cash boxes at the centre of a massive counterfeiting operation in Sapeiman.
The Sapeiman bust took place in February and unearthed a large-scale forgery ring operating behind a seemingly abandoned building disguised as a local battery-charging shop.
With Ghana aiming to cleanse its image, security operatives uncovered 10 40-foot containers filled with counterfeit cedi and US dollar notes.
The team also discovered fake gold bars.
Court orders Nigerian's deportation over fake cash
In 2025, YEN.com.gh reported that a Nigerian trader had been 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, with social media users reacting to the sentencing.
Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
