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Major Mahama murder: 12 suspects found guilty, sentenced to life imprisonment
The Jury in the Major Mahama case has returned a unanimous guilty verdict on 12 out of the 14 persons standing trial for the death of Major Mahama.
The 12 have been found guilty of counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and abetment of murder.
They have been sentenced to life imprisonment each for the counts they were found guilty of.
The 12 includes the Assembly Member of the area who was accused of rallying the community to attack Major Mahama when the incident occurred.
Meanwhile, two of the accused persons have been acquitted and discharged after the jury found them not guilty of the charges against them.
The jury has been discharged, and the convicts are awaiting sentencing by Justice Mariama Owusu.
Attorney General, Godfred Dame in an interview with Citi News‘ Hanson Agyemang expressed hope that the verdict will act as a deterrence to people who practice mob justice.
“It’s been a long battle, started way back in December 2017. Persons accused were committed to some trial at the High Court, that was in April 2018. It’s been about 5 years or more, the whole justice we all know grinds slowly. But today we have seen justice. Two have been acquitted and 12 sentenced. I don’t think the public will contest the acquittal of those two persons. We are satisfied with the conviction. And we can only express our sympathies with the family of the late Major Mahama. They have suffered a lot, they have gone through a lot, but at least they have seen justice and I’m sure they should be happy about it.”
Background
Major Mahama was lynched at Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region on May 29, 2017, while on duty.
It was later narrated that the military officer had been mistaken for a robber.
Following the incident, over 50 suspects were rounded up, out of which 14 were eventually screened for prosecution.
They are William Baah, then-Assemblyman for Denkyira Obuasi, Bernard Asamoah alias Daddy, Kofi Nyame a.k.a. Abortion, Akwasi Boah, Kwame Tuffour, Joseph Appiah Kubi, Michael Anim and Bismarck Donkor. The rest are: John Bosie, Akwasi Baah, Charles Kwaning, Emmanuel Badu, Bismarck Abanga and Kwadwo Anima.
The High Court, in July 2022, overruled a submission of no case made by lawyers of the 14 accused persons in the Major Mahama Murder trial.
The 14, including then assemblyman for Denkyira Obuasi, William Baah argued that the prosecution had not made a compelling case enough against them.
Their lawyers thus argued that they had not been implicated in the tragic killing of Major Mahama and should be freed of the charge.
Justice Mariama Owusu, a Justice of the Supreme Court sitting as an additional High Court Judge, however, rejected their argument.
Her Ladyship held that the charges of intentionally causing harm to, and murder of, Major Maxwell Mahama had been sufficiently demonstrated by the prosecution and needed to be defended.
She consequently overruled the submission of no case, and called upon the accused persons to open their defence.
Source: Citinewsroom.com
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
