Court Frees 3 Armed Robbery-Suspects

The Techiman Circuit Tribunal, chaired by Mr. Justice Nicholas Abodapi, has discharged three suspected armed robbers after finding them not guilty of the charge.

The persons are Emmanuel Kwasi Kyeremeh, a trader, Stephen Anokye, a herbalist, and Yaw Kwabena Frank, a businessman, all at Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region.

One of the freed persons, Kyeremeh, who happened to be the first accused, has threatened to take civil action against the complainant, Frederick Kwame Awuah, for damages.

According to the prosecutor, Detective Inspector Mary Achaab, the complainant is the managing director of Cashfred Company Limited, a cigarette distribution company, based at Techiman.

Inspector Achaab said on August 5, this year, at about 2:30 a.m, armed robbers numbering about six besieged the premises of Cashfred Company Limited.

She told the tribunal that the night watchman, Kayiri Bamwara, was tied up and blindfolded with his own raincoat, the thieves then broke the padlock on the door before entering the shop.

Also, according to the prosecutor, the iron door in the shop was forced open and ?19.1 million was stolen.

The prosecutor revealed that during the commission of the robbery, the robbers carried weapons.

The next morning, the director made a report to the police.

Detective Inspector Achaab told the court that a number of arrests were made, including the three suspects on August 5, last year.

The following day, August 6, Kyeremeh, Anokye and Frank were granted bail.

Whilst the three suspects were on a bail, some new developments were received from Kwadwo Isaac, now convicted, who alerted the police that he and the accused persons, prior to the incident on August 5, had met at a drinking bar and planned to rob a number of persons at Techiman, including the complainant.

He said Kyeremeh gave him his mobile phone number for the execution of the robbery.

That telephone number was passed on to the police and upon investigation they revealed that the said number was for the first accused.

Based on this information, the police arrested the three accused persons.

Isaac Kwadwo, however, was in police cells for a different crime before the appointed day of the robbery. While he was in custody, the three accused persons were brought in.

The third accused was put in the same cell with Kwadwo.

In the cell, the third accused allegedly told Kwadwo that they were able to execute their operation, adding that even though they were not seen they had been arrested upon suspicion.

Following revelations of certain activities of the three persons in the cell, the police who were still investigating the case brought them to the court and requested that they remain in remand, pending further investigation.

Representing the accused persons, Lawyer Solomon Oppong Twumasi argued that his clients were innocent, adding that "this presumption is important in our criminal jurisprudence."

Lawyer Twumasi continued that the facts presented to the tribunal were mere speculations.

He contended that the confession made by Kwadwo did not bind on any of the accused persons.

He further argued that his client only met Kwadwo in police custody when they were arrested on August 6, last year.

Surprisingly, according to the defence lawyer, Kwadwo did not report the alleged confession, adding that it was a strange thing he chose to do so when the three accused persons were granted bail.

Twumasi said, "If Isaac, ever reported this, his assertions were speculations and afterthought."

The alleged activities of the accused around the scene of the crime were mere speculations by the prosecution, he added.

He denied before the tribunal that the first accused had ever given his mobile phone to Isaac Kwadwo.