The Swedru Circuit Court has delivered a stern judicial response to the wave of street violence sweeping through the Eastern Region, sentencing three men following a savage cutlass fight that shocked the nation on social media.

The convicts, George Okyere, 43, Evans Adayele, 20, and Joseph Nyabaah, 26, appeared before the court to answer for a bloody confrontation at the New Station Area of Akyem Oda. The incident, captured on amateur video and circulated widely online, triggered a national conversation regarding the brazen use of weapons in residential communities.

Facing a two-count charge of fighting with a weapon and causing harm, violations of Sections 203 and 69 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), all three men entered a plea of guilty.

Presiding over the case, the court sentenced the younger duo, Evans Adayele and Joseph Nyabaah, to 12 months’ imprisonment with hard labour. The oldest of the group, George Okyere, was handed a financial penalty of 500 penalty units, amounting to GH₵6,000. Additionally, Okyere was ordered to sign a three-year bond of good behaviour, with the court warning of further incarceration should he breach the peace.

In a testimony that sought to explain the genesis of the violence, George Okyere claimed the encounter began as a mundane shopping trip. He told the court he had gone to purchase a pair of Wellington boots when he was suddenly intercepted by Adayele and Nyabaah, who arrived at the scene in a vehicle.

According to Okyere, the tension escalated the moment he identified himself, though the specific nature of their prior grievance remains unclear. Despite his attempt to frame the start of the incident as a confrontation, he admitted his role in the subsequent brutality.

“He admitted to taking part in the fight, including the use of a cutlass in public,” the court records noted, reflecting his confession to engaging in the armed brawl once the situation spiralled out of control.

While the sentences were significant, the court took into account that none of the three men possessed a prior criminal record. This reportedly saved them from the maximum possible custodial sentences.

However, the judge was unyielding regarding the gravity of the act itself, noting that the use of dangerous weapons in a public space posed an unacceptable risk to innocent bystanders and overall public safety.