The Sowutuom Branch Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Accra, Ibrahim Mohammed, has been sentenced to a total of 10 years’ imprisonment for threatening some public officials, including the Minister for the Interior, Henry Quartey.
The convict, who identifies himself as the Leader of a revolutionary group ‘Kanawu’, which translate loosely as ‘Speak and Die,’ was arrested on September 10, 2024, after making the threats in a video that went viral on social media.
The Ghana Police Service had declared him wanted and placed a GH¢50,000 bounty on him after he went into hiding.
The convict was seen in the said video tape wearing a red military beret, and he claimed that the Police Service in the Ashanti Region, under the direction of the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, and the Minister for the Interior, Henry Quartey, were recruiting fake police personnel to kill citizens of Ghana during the upcoming December 7, 2024 general election.
The convict further claimed that he and his cohorts knew where the minister lived, and that at the outbreak of war in Ghana, they would shoot him.
A search conducted in his room following his arrest led to the retrieval of the red beret he used in the viral video.
Mohammed Ibrahim was subsequently arraigned before a Circuit Court in Accra on September 13, 2024, on three charges – publication of false news with intent to cause fear and alarm to the public, threat of harm and offensive conduct conducive to breach of peace.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his lawyer, Francis-Xavier Sosu urged the court to expedite the trial, which the court granted.
The prosecution called three (3) witnesses at the trial and tendered in evidence 10 exhibits.
On November 5, 2024, the court found that a prima facie case had been made against the convict, and called upon him to open his defence.
Mohammed Ibrahim opened his defence, testified, and called three (3) witnesses to make his case.
The court, presided over by Her Honour Evelyn Asamoah, on November 29, 2024, found him guilty of all three charges and sentenced him to a total of 10 years’ imprisonment in hard labour.
The sentencing included three (3) years for publication of false news with intent to cause fear and alarm to the public; four (4) years for threat of harm; and three (3) years for offensive conduct conducive to breach of peace.
A Daily Guide Report