Elisha Mahama Akpanichie, the man who killed Jirapa 'Dubai' owner and sentenced to life imprisonment
The Wa High Court has sentenced 33-year-old Elisha Mahama Akpanichie to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of Eric Johnson, the owner of the Royal Cosy Hills Hotel, popularly known as Jirapa Dubai.
The judgment, delivered on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, by Justice Yussif Assibey, brought an end to the high-profile case that shocked the nation in February 2024. Two other accused persons — Belinda Miller and Kweku Kumbata — were acquitted and discharged after the court found no evidence linking them to the crime.
According to court records, the incident occurred on the night of February 10, 2024, when Elisha Mahama, a former human resource manager at the hotel, invaded the private residence of his former employer in Jirapa.
The prosecution told the court that Mahama scaled the hotel’s fortified wall using a ladder and, while inside the compound, made several phone calls to Belinda Miller seeking directions to the master key to Mr Johnson’s room. He eventually broke into the victim’s bedroom and stabbed him multiple times, leaving him naked and lying in a pool of blood.
Investigators revealed that after the attack, Mahama took an unspecified amount of money and Mr Johnson’s Nissan vehicle, which he later abandoned at Jirapa Zongo before fleeing the region.
Police launched an intelligence-led manhunt, tracking Mahama to the Central Region, where he was arrested a few days later. Following months of investigation and presentation of forensic and circumstantial evidence, the prosecution secured his conviction for murder.
Justice Assibey ruled that the evidence overwhelmingly established Mahama’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt and ordered that he serve his sentence at the Ankaful Maximum Security Prison.
Eric Johnson, the murdered hotelier, was a celebrated entrepreneur in the Upper West Region. He had recently built the luxurious Royal Cosy Hills Hotel — nicknamed Jirapa Dubai — which featured a safari park with zebras, an artificial lake, and recreational facilities.
Johnson was widely admired for his efforts to create jobs and boost tourism in the Jirapa area. His death, described by residents as a devastating loss, drew nationwide attention.
Further evidence presented in court revealed that Mahama had been dismissed from his position at the hotel prior to the killing. His dismissal stemmed from allegations of multiple sexual relationships with female employees, which had caused internal conflicts and disrupted operations.
On the night of the murder, Mahama reportedly left another girlfriend, Laureate Asare, in his room under the pretext of buying food before proceeding to commit the crime.
The gruesome killing of Eric Johnson left the Jirapa community reeling, but Wednesday’s conviction, after more than a year of investigation and trial, brings a measure of closure to the case.