The Accra High Court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo has delivered its final judgment in the case involving the death of ten year old Ishmael Mensah Junior. The court issued the death penalty to the two young men who were accused of killing the child for ritual purposes in April 2021. This decision followed a unanimous guilty verdict reached by the jury after careful deliberation on the evidence presented throughout the trial.
The incident occurred in Kasoa within the Central Region where the victim was allegedly lured to an uncompleted building. Prosecution argued that the two accused individuals planned the act under the influence of a spiritualist who promised them financial prosperity in exchange for human sacrifice. The discovery of the body sparked national outrage and led to immediate police intervention and the subsequent arrest of the suspects.
During the proceedings the court heard testimonies from several witnesses including police investigators and forensic experts. The defense attempted to argue for leniency based on the age of one of the accused persons at the time of the offense. However the legal framework regarding murder and the severity of the crime influenced the final sentencing according to the dictates of the law.
While the death penalty remains on the statute books in Ghana for specific categories of crime it is frequently commuted to life imprisonment. The ruling today serves as a judicial conclusion to a matter that has remained in the public eye for three years. Family members of the deceased expressed relief at the court premises following the announcement of the conviction.