The High Court in Accra has sentenced Otis Kwadwo Antwi, a driver, to life imprisonment for the gruesome murder of 35-year-old Emmanuel Okai, popularly known as “Yaw Home Use.”
The verdict, delivered on Friday, November 22, 2024, by Justice El-Freda Dankyi, followed a unanimous decision by a seven-member jury.
The crime, committed on June 6, 2015, shocked the community after Okai’s mutilated body was discovered on a road between Awunakrom and Mpohor, days after he was last seen alive.
Prosecution, led by Principal State Attorney Mrs. Sefakor Batse, presented compelling evidence during the trial, which spanned several years.
Witness testimonies and forensic findings confirmed that Okai was brutally attacked with a sharp object, sustaining severe injuries that led to massive hemorrhaging.
Investigators also discovered that Antwi had sold the deceased’s unregistered Toyota RAV 4 vehicle, which was traced to a businessman in Kumasi.
Despite efforts by defense counsel Akwasi Opoku Agyemang to challenge the evidence, the jury concluded that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.
In delivering her judgment, Justice Dankyi emphasized the severity of the crime and its impact on the victim’s family and society at large. She urged the public to draw lessons from the case, highlighting the justice system’s role in deterring violent crimes.
The sentencing under Section 46 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), ensures that Antwi will spend the rest of his life in prison for his actions, bringing closure to a case that had lingered for nearly a decade.
