Yaw Asante Agyekum, who was convicted in 2010 alongside infamous armed robber Atta Ayi, has been acquitted and discharged by the Court of Appeal after serving 15 years of a 35-year sentence.

Agyekum had been in custody since 2002, amounting to a total of 23 years behind bars.

Agyekum, a mechanic alleged to have worked for Atta Ayi’s robbery gang, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder.

His co-accused, Atta Ayi, was convicted on multiple counts of robbery and sentenced to 160 years in prison for leading a notorious criminal syndicate that plagued Accra in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Following his conviction, Agyekum appealed the ruling, with his legal team arguing that the prosecution failed to link him directly to any of the crimes committed by the gang.

The Court of Appeal agreed, ruling that the initial trial lacked sufficient evidence to justify his conviction and sentence. It also emerged that Agyekum had no legal representation at the time of his conviction.

The three-member panel, comprising Justice Aboagye Tanoh, Justice Stephen Oppong, and Justice Janapare Bartels Kodwo, ruled unanimously to set aside the conviction.

They emphasized that the prosecution had failed to produce enough evidence to support the guilty verdict, leading to Agyekum’s acquittal and release.