The Accra High Court delivered its final judgment on October 24 2024 regarding the murder of ten year old Ishmael Mensah Junior. According to MyJoyOnline and Citi Newsroom reports the court sentenced eighteen year old Nicholas Kini to life imprisonment. The second offender who was fifteen years old at the time of the crime was sentenced to a maximum term of twenty four years in a juvenile correctional facility as reported by Graphic Online.
Justice Lydia Osei Marfo presided over the case where a seven member jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty for both conspiracy to commit murder and murder. The prosecution established that the two convicts lured the victim into an uncompleted building at Kasoa Lamptey Mills on April 3 2021. Court proceedings revealed that the offenders killed the young boy with the intent of using his body parts for a money ritual after contacting a spiritualist.
During the trial Nicholas Kini maintained his innocence and claimed he was not at the scene of the crime. However the juvenile offender provided testimony that implicated both himself and Kini in the act. The GhanaWeb report indicates that the juvenile confessed to the plan while Kini denied involvement throughout the cross examination. The jury ultimately rejected Kini's alibi and accepted the evidence presented by the Office of the Attorney General.
The sentencing of the juvenile offender to twenty four years follows the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act which prevents the death penalty or life imprisonment for minors. Justice Osei Marfo noted that the term should be served at a place of the President's pleasure. The families of the victim and the convicts were present at the High Court when the final orders were read ending a legal process that lasted over three years.