Ghanaian woman UK jailed 14 years for pouring acid on boyfriend over mistaken cheating fears

A 28-year-old Ghanaian woman based in the UK, Esther Afrifa, has been sentenced to 14-years in prison for carrying out an acid attack on her boyfriend, Kelvin Pogo

According to a JoyNews report, Esther bought a litre of sulphuric acid online to carry out the attack on Kelvin and hid it by the bedside at the home they shared in Wembley, northwest London.

Based on untrue information, Esther thought Kelvin was secretly dating a university classmate and decided to acid bathe him when she found out.

She poured the acid onto his chest as he was sleeping and went ahead to prevent him from getting out of the house to get emergency treatment.

For more than four hours after the first attack, Esther struck again as Kelvin was crying over his wound, she poured more of the acid on his face and torso.

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The judge in charge of the case at Harrow crown court, Judge Charles Bourne QC, while, sentencing Afrifa to 14 years, said it is “a truly wicked thing to do”.

“You prepared a weapon you knew would cause extremely severe disfiguring injuries and terrible pain”, he said. “You armed yourself and deliberately followed through with that plan.”

Kelvin's ordeal

Kelvin Pogo, 29, from Basildon, who moved to the UK to study film, has been left physically and psychologically scarred, with permanent sight loss and fears for his budding career in the movies.

Kelvin who is now plagued by suicidal thoughts added that he had been left with £42,000 of medical bills and now fears he will be forced to leave the UK.

The judge said the attack was carried out on December 22, 2019, when she wrongly suspected him of cheating, poured acid on his chest at 3.30 am which quickly burned through his t-shirt.

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Kelvin used holy water to treat his wounds, and not realising Esther was responsible, asked her to get help but instead she pretended to call 999, blocked his friends from calling, and canceled a taxi to take him to hospital.

Esther tried to trick him into drinking acid she had put into a Nike sports bottle, claiming it was tap water.

Kelvin said he was only saved because of a distrust of tap water since his childhood in Africa.

The judge ruled that Esther poses an ongoing danger to members of the public as he ordered her to serve at least two-thirds of the 14-year prison sentence, plus an extra three years on licence once released.

She will initially be detained in a secure hospital due to a mental health disorder that has developed since the attacks.

She is likely to be deported back to Ghana after her release from prison.

Source: YEN.com.gh