A married man who killed his cousin in a confrontation over a side chick, has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for manslaughter.
Godwin Kotey was arrested in November 2020 for driving a screw driver through his cousin’s chest after suspecting he was having an ‘affair’ with his side chick.
The convict had asked his now deceased cousin, Frederick Nii Oko Sackey, to accommodate his side chick Victoria Sabbah in his abode since he could not bring her to live with his wife
He later suspected his side chick and cousin were making out, resulting in multiple confrontations, including the one on November 23, 2020, in which he thrust a screw driver through his chest, leading to his death.
He was initially charged with one count of murder and he pleaded not guilty and was awaiting trial.
His lawyer, however, managed to secure a plea bargain with the Office of the Attorney General and the charge was knocked down from murder to manslaughter, to which he pleaded guilty.
Edwin Hoffman, holding brief of Kwame Appiah, counsel for the convict, told the court that they had entered into plea negotiations with the Attorney General and the convict was willing to plead guilty to manslaughter.
“We come under section 239(2) of Act 30,” he told the court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo.
Vivian Osei Tutu, a Senior State Attorney at the Attorney General’s Office, on her part said the Attorney General had accepted the proposal for the accused to plead to manslaughter instead of murder for a lesser punishment.
Justice Marfo said by virtue of section 239 (2) of Act 30 which says where an accused is arraigned on an indictment for an offence, he can lawfully be convicted on the indictment of any other offence not charged in the indictment.
“This being so and with the consent of the prosecution, would accept a plea of guilty from the accused person in respect of manslaughter and discharge him for the offence of murder,” she ruled.
The court, therefore, retook his plea and he pleaded not guilty to murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and was convicted on his plea.
Justice Marfo, in sentencing him, said, “I have considered the circumstance of this case and I also believe that the proposal of a sentence of five years is reasonable and hereby sentence the accused person to serve five years prison custody with hard labour.”
Brief Facts
The prosecution’s brief facts states that the accused (now convict) is a married man resident at Jamestown, near the Salaga Market.
Deceased, Frederick Nii Oko Sackey, is a cousin of the accused. Sometime in June, 2020, the accused who is a married man asked the deceased to accommodate his girlfriend/fiancé, Victoria Sabbah in his abode since he could not bring her to live with his wife.
Accused later became suspicious of the relationship between the deceased and his fiancé and accused the two of having an affair behind his back. This allegation generated a series of confrontation and deceased asked the lady, Victoria Sabbah to leave his room.
Sometime in November, the fiancé, Victoria Sabbah went back to deceased to plead with him to accommodate her as she didn’t have anywhere to stay.
When accused realised that the deceased continued to accommodate his fiancé, he intensified his accusation against the deceased and confronted him on phone to return all the belongings of his fiancé to her.
On November 23, accused armed with a screw driver went to Salaga Market to look for and engaged deceased in a heated argument. In the course of the fight, he pulled out the screw driver and stabbed the deceased in the chest with it and bolted.
With the help of bystanders, the accused was pursued and handed over to the police.
A pathologist at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital gave the cause of death as perforated right ventricle from stab injury to the chest.
Accused confessed to the offence in his caution statement and was accordingly charged with the offence of murder, it added.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak