Bekwai Court jails Cobbler 15years for armed robbery

A Bekwai Circuit Court has sentenced a 26-year-old cobbler, Thomas Opoku, popularly known as Akwasi Dekye, to 15 years' imprisonment for robbing a nursing student at gunpoint at Kokofu Bedoma in the Bekwai Municipality of the Ashanti Region.

Opoku was convicted on Thursday, August 6, 2026, on charges of conspiracy to commit crime and robbery, contrary to Sections 23(1) and 149 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

The prosecution told the court that at about 12:15 a.m. on June 12, 2026, Opoku and an accomplice, identified as Agye Nyame, who remains at large, attacked Divine Adu Boaheng near the Kokofu Nursing Training School while he was returning from Bedomaise.

During the robbery, the two assailants, one of whom was armed with a single-barrel gun, allegedly robbed the victim of an Infinix Smart 6 mobile phone valued at GH¢1,400 and GH¢400 in cash.

Police arrested Opoku on June 18, 2026, at the Kokofu Lorry Station after the complainant identified him. Investigators subsequently retrieved the stolen mobile phone, while the convict admitted to the offence in his caution statement.

Presiding Judge, His Honour Isaac Appiatu, sentenced Opoku to 15 years in prison following his conviction.

The police say efforts are continuing to arrest the second suspect, Agye Nyame, who remains on the run.