Immediately, his sentence was pronounced, the once Detective Lance Corporal (D/L/Cpl) Kwame Adu Asabereh break down to beg to the court to tamper Justice with mercy, but was told nothing can be done about his fate.

The Accra Circuit Court ’11’, presided over by Patricia Amponsah sentenced the 34-year-old, whose entitlements and benefits as a personnel of the Ghana Police Service had been ripped off, to a total of 24 years in prison.

Kwame who had been very eloquent during the trial was convinced on Friday, November 11, 2022, after having been found guilty of all three counts: Forgery of an official document, Abetment of crime, and Corruption by a public officer, despite his not guilty plea.

The sentence, which had downgraded Kwame’s status in society as a police officer to a convict and freedom of movement to prison confinement, would actually last 12 years.

He is expected to serve 12 years on count 1, three years for court 2, and another 12 years on count 2 one and three and three years on count 3. The court ordered that the counts are to run concurrently.

Kwame was found guilty of aiding a Britain national who had been convicted of fraud to flee the jurisdiction of Ghana.

According to the convict, the convicted Brit, Harold Davies Johnson fled while they were in a taxi on the Achimota – Ofankor road – and he (police) slept off.

The court found it very unfortunate for a law enforcement officer to be compromised in such a manner, thereby putting the image of the country in a bad light, particularly in the eyes of the international community. 

Mrs Apomansah was challenged by the fact, even though the convict was asking for mercy, during cross-examination that all pieces of evidence were pointing to the convict’s guilt, still maintained a position that he was innocent.

She said, although the convict admitted that he was negligent to have slept off in a taxi while transporting the convicted Brit, he failed to do the same when he told the court that he sent Davies Johnson to the hospital multiple times without police extract or making an entry. 

The court, in fact, gave him 15 years on count 1 and three years each on the other counts before reducing it to 12 years, after it was reminded by the Prosecuting Officer DSP Sylvester Asare the minimum sentence for count 3 is 12 years.

Background

D/L/Cpl Asabereh made his first appearance in court on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, on the charge that with intent to deceive the Director-General of CID, he allegedly forged the police prisoners’ removal book to suggest that convict Harold was sent or received by the Nsawam Prisons authorities.

Also with the intent to prevent execution of the law, he allegedly facilitated the escape of the convict who was in his custody, and in respect of his duties as an police officer, allowed himself to be influenced by the convict on the promise that he would assist him to travel abroad if he released his passport to him.

Brief facts

The court was told that the accused person was a Police Officer stationed at the CID Headquarters, Accra.

However, somewheres in the year 2019, a case of defrauding by false pretences involving one Harold Davies Johnson alias Emmanuel Snowden, a British national, who was reported by Dr. Shadrack Asare was referred to the accused person for investigation.

After the investigation, the accused person was instructed to be charged and arraigned Harold Davies Johnson in court for the offence of defrauding by false pretences.

Harold Davies Johnson was subsequently arraigned before the Accra Circuit Court ‘2’, presided over by H/H Naa Adjetey Quaison, and pleaded guilty Simplicita to the charge.

Harold Davies Johnson was convicted on his own plea of guilty to three years imprisonment, and was handed over to the accused person, who was then the case officer, to be sent to Nsawam Prison.

Surprisingly, the accused person failed to send the convict to the prison, and rather elected to send the convict to his house at Sarpeman to live with him for some time.

Further investigations had it that upon the promise by the convict to assist the accused person to travel abroad, and in consideration, the accused person released the convict’s British passport, which was in his custody, to the convict to travel to the United Kingdom.

That the accused person, to conceal his act, forged the Police Removal of Prisoner book to suggest that the convict had been sent and received by the Nsawam Prison authorities. Upon arrest of the accused person, he admitted the facts as being correct.