Man sentenced to death for ‘sacrificing’ son

A 33-year-old food vendor has been sentenced to death by an Accra High Court after he was found guilty by a jury for throwing his two-year-old son into the sea near Akuma Village, Accra, as a sacrifice to become rich.

The convict, Prince Acquaye, aka Juu, according to court documents, had engaged in occultism and killed his son for sacrifice in April 2021.

The documents indicate that the convict later told his girlfriend, the little boy’s mother, that if anything happened to their son, she should not worry as they were going to be rich very soon.

The matter was, however, reported to the police and Prince Acquaye was arrested and charged with murder.

He was put before a Kaneshie Magistrate Court which after committal proceedings referred him to the High Court for trial.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder, and the trial went its full length, but a seven-member jury unanimously found him guilty of murder.

He was, therefore, sentenced to death in spite of Parliament voting to repeal the death sentence last month.

This is because the new law will only apply to new cases and not those pending before the repeal.

The prosecution’s fact is that the complainant in the case, Abigail Nyumor, a food vendor, was the convict’s girlfriend and they lived together with the deceased, who was their only son.

The prosecution said somewhere in February 2021, the convict had told the complainant that if something happened to their son, she should not worry because they were going to be rich very soon.

According to the prosecution, the complainant thought it was a joke, so she told the accused to stop that.

The prosecution said on April 20, 2021, at about 1200 noon, the victim, now deceased, asked the convict to give him money to buy groundnuts.

Prince Acquaye offered the victim GH¢5, and not quite long, the complainant went to sleep.

The prosecution said the complainant, however, woke up after some neighbours informed her that the convict had thrown the victim into the sea.

The facts said the convict was arrested and the victim was rescued and sent to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, but he died the following day.

The prosecution said preliminary investigations indicated that the accused was initiated into occultism, and it was time for him to make his sacrifice.

The convict, according to court documents, chose his son for the sacrifice by throwing him into the cliff at Akuma Village, which is 33 feet above sea level.