Daniel Obirikwa Adjin who stabbed his elder brother to death in 2017 at Mamprobi in Accra has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Accra High Court.
Adjin was sentenced by the court after the jury, in a 5-2 decision, returned a verdict of guilty on him at the end of the trial.
“The jury after a majority decision of 5-2, accused is hereby convicted on the charge of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment,” the court, presided over by Justice Marie-Louise Simmons, said.
The court informed the convict that he had one month to appeal against the sentence at the Court of Appeal.
During trial, the convict told the court that he committed the act in self-defence.
He said his brother, William Adjin, attacked him and held his testicles, resulting in he (convict) stabbing him in the process.
He further attributed his actions to being intoxicated and confused because his money had gone missing in his room.
Defence counsel for Adjin said they found the decision by the jury difficult to swallow, by law they had no choice but to respect the verdict.
Narration of what happened, according to he complainant, Daniel Adjei Adjin.
The convict is also the younger brother of the deceased.
On March 19, 2017, at about 21 hours, the complainant retired to bed in their bedroom while his father (deceased) rested on the porch after he had finished eating.
The complainant said he suddenly heard a shout for help from his father who was struggling with the convict.
When he got closer to them, prosecution said the complainant noticed that blood was oozing from the collar bone of his father and the convict was trying to stab him further with a knife.
Prosecution said the complainant then rushed to aid his father and he held the hand of the convict, thus preventing him from inflicting further wounds.
“The complainant was all this while shouting for help and a next-door neighbour, one Sister Love, rushed to the scene with other people and they tried to retrieve the knife from the
accused, but they could not as the accused person was holding onto it firmly and in the process, the knife broke.”
The deceased was rescued and rushed to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Accident Centre where he was treated, prosecutor said.
He said about an hour later, the nurses informed the complainant that his father had died from the injuries.
The complainant therefore reported the matter to the police at Mamprobi.
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