The Tarkwa Circuit Court has sentenced a 23-year-old unemployed man to 15 years’ imprisonment with hard labour for attacking and robbing a food vendor at Adjakaa Manso in the Western Region.

The convict, Enock Appiah, alias “Odanka,” pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful entry and robbery.

Justice Mercy Adei Kotei, a High Court Judge sitting with additional responsibility as a Circuit Court Judge, convicted Appiah on his own plea.

He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment with hard labour on the first count and 15 years on the second count. The sentences are to run concurrently.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Joseph Lartey, prosecuting, told the court that the complainant, Aisha Ayaba, and the convict lived in the same neighbourhood at Adjakaa Manso.

On January 27, 2026, at about 3:00 a.m., while Ayaba was in her room, she saw Appiah hiding behind her door. When she questioned him, he struck her on the neck with a hammer, pushed her against the door, and fled with her Infinix Smart and Tecno POP 8 mobile phones, valued at GH¢2,700.00.

Ayaba reported the incident to the police, leading to Appiah’s arrest at his hideout, where the stolen phones—without their SIM cards—were retrieved.

During interrogation, Appiah admitted to the crime and pleaded for forgiveness. He led the investigating officer to the complainant’s house, identified a back window through which he attempted to enter, and pointed out the exact spot in the room from which he stole the mobile phones.

The court ordered that the retrieved phones be returned to Ayaba.The hammer used in the attack was forfeited to the Republic and handed over to the Ghana Police Service, Western Central Regional Command.