Anane Mathias and Bernard Dankwah
Two persons who were facing trial for snatching a taxi from its owner at gun point at Kwabenya in Accra, have been jailed 12 years by an Accra circuit court.
The convicts – Bernard Dankwah, 25 and Anane Mathias, 26, were sentenced by Justice Mrs. Abena Oppong Adjin-Doku after they had admitted committing the offence and asked for mercy.
They were standing trial on two counts of conspiracy to rob and robbery.
Mrs Adjin-Doku gave them a minimum sentence for not wasting the time of the court.
They are to serve ten years for count one and twelve years for count two, to run concurrently.
Prosecuting, Chief inspector Kwabena Adu said the complainant is a taxi driver while the Dankwah and Anane are motor mechanic and narber respectively.
On January 3, 2018, at about 11:30 pm while the complainant was on his usual rounds for passengers, a young man, believed to be an accomplice of the two accused persons, chartered the taxi to Musoku, Kwabenya, at a fee of GH¢5.00.
The young man, Chief inspector Kwabena Adu claimed, sat beside the driver and on reaching a section of the road near the Musoku police station, the passenger asked the driver to stop at gunpoint.
There and then, Dankwah and Anane emerged from behind with knife and rope to attack the driver.
They pulled him from the vehicle, tied him with the rope and dumped him in a nearby bush.
According to Chief inspector Adu, the two then sped off with the car containing an amount of GH¢1,896, four mobile phones and a driver’s licence.
They then took the vehicle to Agbogbloshie, a suburb of Accra, to look for a prospective buyer.
A man who suspected the vehicle to be a stolen one, feigned interest and told them to wait while he went for a buyer.
He then called the police to the scene, but the third suspect managed to escape upon seeing the law enforcers.
The two were apprehended and brought to the station.
The four mobile phones were found on the accused and in their caution statements, admitted the offence .
By Linda Tenyah- Ayettey