Five years after the brutal killing of the Assembly Member for Sogakope, Mawuli Adzahli, the High Court in Ho has sentenced the ringleader of the deadly robbery attack, Richard Adikyere, to life imprisonment.
Presided over by Justice Daniel Ekow Mensah, the court also handed 47-year jail terms each to two of Adikyere’s accomplices, Emmanuel Hedzro and Stephen Adzibolo, after they were found guilty of robbery.
Adikyere, a mason, had pleaded not guilty to charges of robbery, possession of firearms without lawful authority, and murder, but the court convicted him based on the prosecution’s evidence.
Four other accomplices—Obed Ayornu, Michael Sam, Samuel Kofi Zotorvi, and his twin brother, Christian Zotorvi—who earlier entered plea bargains and pleaded guilty to their roles in the crime, were each sentenced to 15 years in prison at an earlier hearing.
According to the prosecution, led by Senior State Attorney Andrews Dodzi Adugu, the robbery was orchestrated in 2020 when Hedzro tipped off Adikyere about a wealthy merchant in Sogakope—who turned out to be the late assemblyman—and urged him to recruit a gang. Hedzro then led Adikyere to the victim’s residence, after which the gang was assembled.
On March 1, 2020, around 1:30 a.m., Adikyere, Adzibolo, Ayornu, and Sam broke into the victim’s home using cement blocks.
Armed with a pump action gun and two pistols, the gang carried out the attack. During the operation, Adikyere shot Mawuli Adzahli three times, killing him on the spot. The group then fled with a large sum of money.
A post-mortem examination conducted at the Sogakope District Hospital revealed that the cause of death was gunshot wounds to the head and chest at close range.
Investigations led to the arrest of the suspects at various locations, including Ashaiman. Hedzro was found to have purchased a motorbike worth GH¢4,800 from his share of the stolen money.
During police interrogation, Adikyere confessed to using a pump action gun—stolen during an earlier robbery—to carry out the shooting.
In delivering his judgement, Justice Mensah described the crime as “heinous and callous,” noting the devastating loss of a productive citizen. The court said the prosecution presented overwhelming evidence that warranted the convictions.
In a dramatic scene after the sentencing, Adikyere, who was handcuffed to Hedzro, attempted to attack journalists trying to photograph them as they were being escorted out of the courtroom.
