Man, 22, Jailed 6 Years Over Assault
A 22-year-old unemployed man, George Oduro, alias “Yesu Mogya,” has been jailed for six years for brutally attacking a 16-year-old Senior High School student with a cutlass at Dedesua near Aputuogya in the Ashanti Region.
Oduro, who was charged with causing harm, pleaded guilty to the offense and was sentenced to 72 months’ imprisonment by the Bekwai Circuit Court.
The presiding judge, Isaac Apietu, handed down the sentence after the convict admitted the offense on his own plea of guilty.
Detective Inspector Eric Okyere, who prosecuted the case, told the court that the victim, Emmanuel Opoku, was a third-year student of Foase Senior High School.
According to the prosecution, the incident occurred at about 11:30 p.m. on September 28, 2026, following an alleged attack on a friend of the convict, identified as Paa Willi.
The court heard that Paa Willi had allegedly been beaten and chased from Dedesua by one Kofi after he was found with Kofi’s underage sister.
Paa Willi reportedly informed Oduro about the incident, prompting the convict and others to mobilize to Dedesua allegedly to retaliate.
Oduro, the prosecution said, armed himself with a cutlass and laid an ambush on the outskirts of the community.
The victim and his friends were reportedly returning home after escorting a tricycle rider to park his vehicle when they encountered the group.
They reportedly took to their heels, but Emmanuel fell during the chase.
When he got up and attempted to escape, Oduro allegedly confronted him and asked whether he knew him.
After the victim answered in the negative, Oduro reportedly swung the cutlass at his head.
Emmanuel managed to dodge the blow, but the cutlass landed heavily on his left shoulder, cutting through the bone and severing the upper part of the shoulder.
The convict allegedly made a second attempt to slash the victim’s head, but Emmanuel used his left forearm to protect himself, sustaining another deep cut.
He fell to the ground and bled profusely.
Oduro reportedly fled after seeing the victim lying in a pool of blood, believing that he had died.
The injured student, however, managed to call for help and was rushed to the Dedesua Clinic before being referred to Agogo General Hospital.
He was later transferred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi for specialist treatment because of the severity of his injuries.
The court further heard that two days after the attack, police received a distress call that a mob had besieged a house at Dedesua and was demanding that a young man be handed over to them for lynching.
Police rushed to the scene and rescued Oduro, who had reportedly gone to plead for forgiveness from the victim’s family.
During investigations, he admitted the offense in his cautioned statement, claiming that he had mistaken Emmanuel for the person who had attacked his friend.
He was subsequently charged and put before the Bekwai Circuit Court, where he pleaded guilty.
Mahama Ayariga addressing the media
PRESIDENT John Mahama has sympathized with the victims of the Kumasi Central Market fire outbreak, assuring them of the government’s support to return to business.
The president gave the assurance through the Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, who visited the market on Saturday.
The fire, reportedly, consumed about 15 lockable shops and the items that were being stored in them at the Aboabo Station section in the market at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 9, 2026.
The exact cause of the blaze was not immediately known, but it is believed to have started in one of the shops when the market was empty and spread to other shops.
Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), despite initially struggling to get access to the fire scene due to poor planning in the market, managed to douse the blaze.
The Local Government Minister, speaking during a visit to the market, said President Mahama was heartbroken about the devastating effects of the fire outbreak in the market.
He encouraged the traders to take heart in these difficult moments, noting that proper assessment would be done to ensure the victims received support.
Mahama Ayariga also advised the traders not to use gas cookers and other flammable materials in the market to avert disaster.
The minister was accompanied by the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene, the Mayor of Kumasi, Richard Ofori Agyeman Boadi, and personnel of the GNFS.
Madam Abena Asuo, one of the fire victims, lamented that she had lost the source of her livelihood, appealing to the government to support the victims to return to work.
According to her, reports she had received indicated that the firefighters did a yeoman’s job to stop the inferno from spreading further to cause more damage in the market.
Meanwhile, what triggered the fire was not readily known when the report was being filed. Personnel of the GNFS have started investigations to verify the cause of the inferno.
