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The Court of Appeal has overturned the conviction of the former Assembly Member for Denkyira Obuasi, William Baah, who had been serving a life sentence for allegedly abetting the murder of Major Maxwell Adam Mahama.
A three-member panel, in a unanimous judgment, ruled that the trial judge, Justice Mariama Owusu—then a Justice of the Supreme Court sitting as a High Court judge—misdirected the jury, resulting in a wrongful guilty verdict.
According to the court, the misdirection was so fundamental that “the jury would not have returned a verdict of guilt if they had been properly directed.”
The Court of Appeal further held that the High Court erred by relying on cautioned statements from two accused persons that implicated Baah. “The judge was bound to disregard the incriminating statements when directing the jury,” the panel stated, adding that the errors were grave enough to invalidate the conviction.
In January 2024, a seven-member jury at the High Court in Accra found William Baah and 11 others guilty over the 2017 mob lynching of Major Mahama. Baah was convicted of abetment of murder.
Eleven others — including Bernard Asamoah, Kofi Nyame, Akwasi Baah, and Kwame Tuffuor — were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, while eight of them were additionally found guilty of murder.
Two accused persons, Bismark Donkor and Bismarck Abanga, were acquitted and discharged.
