The Court of Appeal has acquitted and discharged Ataa Ayi’s accomplice, Yaw Asante Agyekum, after serving decades in jail for conspiracy to commit robbery.
Asante Agyeman, a mechanic, was sentenced to 35 years in 2002 for conspiracy to commit robbery and has since served over 20 years of his jail term.
His lawyer, George Bernard Shaw, had argued that Asante Agyekum’s only link to Ataa Ayi was that most of the bikes used by the robbers in Ataa Ayi’s fraternity were repaired in his workshop.
In a judgment on June 5, 2025, a three-member panel at the Court of Appeal, which had Justice Janapare A. Bartels-Kodwo as its President, held that Agyekum, who was convicted 23 years ago, could not be linked to the many robberies carried out by Ataa Ayi.
It was also the court’s opinion that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence to warrant a conviction and sentence.
The court, therefore, acquitted and discharged Agyekum after eight years of legal battle through his counsel, George Bernard Shaw, to secure his freedom.
Other members of the panel were Justices Aboagye Tandoh and Stephen Oppong.