The Ho Circuit Court has sentenced three young people to a total of 19 years in prison for planning and carrying out a robbery at the Ho Central Market.
The court, led by His Honour Osman Abdul-Hakeem, gave the ruling on Friday, May 9, 2025. The three robbers include, Mercy Sokpe (22), Atsu Kamasa (25), and Godfred Dzidonu (19)—were found guilty of attacking and stealing an iPhone from a 21-year-old man named Elijah Torgbedzi.
According to the police, the robbery happened on May 4, 2025, at around 4:30 pm. The victim, Elijah, was walking near the Ho Central Market when Mercy Sokpe approached him and asked to use his iPhone 6s to take a selfie. He agreed, not knowing it was part of a trick. While she pretended to take the photo, she gave a signal to her two friends, Atsu and Godfred. The two men rushed in, attacked Elijah with scissors, and the three ran off with the phone, which is valued at 700 Ghana Cedis.
Luckily, Elijah quickly raised an alarm. People nearby helped arrest Godfred Dzidonu with the stolen phone and handed him over to the police. Later, the police found and arrested Mercy Sokpe and Atsu Kamasa at their hiding places in Ho.
All three robbers were taken to court on May 9. They were charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery itself. They admitted to the crimes. The judge sentenced each of them to three years in prison for planning the robbery. In addition, Atsu Kamasa and Godfred Dzidonu got five more years each for their direct involvement in the robbery.
The Ghana Police Service is advising the public to be very careful when dealing with strangers, especially in public places. People should be alert and watchful to avoid falling victim to similar tricks.
