Richmond Laweh, a 25-year-old caretaker, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for manslaughter after a makeshift gate he installed electrocuted a 14-year-old boy at Ampomah, near Ashiyie.
The Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Marie-Louise Simmons, delivered the sentence after a seven-member jury unanimously found Laweh guilty.
The tragic incident occurred when the victim, Samuel Darko, attempted to open a gate blocking a pathway across two plots of land where Laweh was squatting. Unbeknownst to Darko, the gate was electrified due to an illegal connection Laweh had set up, extending electricity with a copper wire from an uncompleted building.
Although Laweh pleaded not guilty, claiming he had hired a professional electrician for the illegal connection and denied electrifying the gate, evidence presented by the prosecution led to his conviction.
Senior State Attorney Nana Ama Adinkrah, who led the prosecution, called four witnesses to establish Laweh’s culpability. The court noted Laweh’s reckless actions and described the incident as preventable.
“All adults know the dangers of electricity. The extent of harm it can cause is unpredictable, and such recklessness has cost a young boy his life,” Justice Simmons stated during sentencing.
The court also criticized the lack of a thorough investigation into the illegal connection, which it said could have resulted in additional charges against Laweh. Justice Simmons urged public awareness about the dangers of illegal electricity connections and called on state institutions to act more proactively.
In her plea for mitigation, Laweh’s defense counsel argued that he had no intention to harm anyone and asked the court for leniency. However, the prosecution countered that his reckless actions had taken the life of a promising young boy and called for a deterrent sentence.
Speaking after the sentencing, the victim’s father expressed relief that justice had been served and urged the public to avoid illegal activities that could endanger lives.
Case Background
The prosecution’s case was that the accused was a caretaker of a parcel of land at Ampomah village, near Ashiyie in the Greater Accra Region.
Prosecution said the land had a foot path commonly used by the residents of that area.
The court heard that Laweh, however, decided to block the said path by creating a makeshift gate with a wire mesh.
Additionaly, prosecution said Laweh electrified the gate by passing a copper wire from his house to the makeshift gate through the ground.
“This means that ordinally, no one would know that the said gate had been electrocuted.
There was no warning sign telling people to keep off the electrocuted gate.”
Prosecution said on June 20, 20219, the deceased was on an errand accompanied by Ruth Tetteh.
The prosecution said when they got to the said foot path which had been blocked with the makeshift gate, the deceased touched the gate to open it.
When the deceased touched the gate, he screamed and fell to the floor as his friend watched helplessly.
The Prosecution said, realising the deceased might be in danger, she rushed home and informed her mother and the mother of the deceased.
They rushed to the scene where others had gathered and saw the lifeless body of the deceased lying by the electrified makeshift, gate.
The court was told that the deceased was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
