Inside details of how wife staged fake robbery and helped killers murder her husband

Legal practitioner Joseph Ackah-Blay has narrated details of a case in which a woman was convicted of abetting the murder of her husband after the Supreme Court of Ghana found that evidence presented at trial established her role in a staged robbery that resulted in his death. The case involved Salamatu Karim and two men, Awudu Alhassan Sulemana, popularly known as “Dozer,” and Mohammed Sulemana, also known as “Banana.” The three were convicted over the murder of Salamatu’s husband, Abdul Karim, at his residence at ACP Estates, Pokuase, on June 15, 2013. According to the case presented before the courts, what initially appeared to be an armed robbery turned out to be a carefully planned attack in which the victim’s wife was alleged to have played a central role. On the night of June 15, 2013, Abdul Karim was at his home at ACP Estates, Pokuase, when he was attacked. At about 9:35 p.m., his wife, Salamatu Karim, contacted the police and reported that armed robbers had broken into their home and attacked her husband while she was bathing. By the time the police arrived, Abdul Karim had already been taken to the hospital. He was subsequently pronounced dead. A post-mortem examination later revealed that Abdul had suffered severe injuries, including a fractured skull and fractured mandible. The medical findings were consistent with a sustained and deliberate beating rather than an attack that occurred incidentally during a robbery. Despite the seriousness of the incident, the case initially remained unresolved. A separate robbery investigation changes everything The breakthrough came years later when police were investigating a different alleged robbery. During investigations into an unrelated attempted robbery, the police arrested a man identified as Kofi Nyagbedzi. According to the prosecution's case, information provided by Nyagbedzi during that investigation led the police to two other men, Awudu Alhassan Sulemana, known as “Dozer,” and Mohammed Sulemana, known as “Banana.” The police subsequently traced and arrested the two men at Dodowa. It was during their interrogation that the circumstances surrounding Abdul Karim’s death allegedly began to emerge. According to the prosecution, statements provided by Dozer and Banana gave investigators a completely different account of what had happened at the Karim residence on the night of the murder. The two men allegedly admitted that the robbery reported by Salamatu had been staged. Rather than unknown armed robbers breaking into the house, the prosecution said the two men had been allowed into the residence by Salamatu herself. Salamatu was not only Abdul Karim’s wife but also Dozer’s sister. The prosecution's case was that she recruited the two men to carry out the attack on her husband and facilitated their entry into the house. According to the evidence relied upon by the prosecution, Salamatu hid Dozer and Banana in the bathroom until the appropriate time. Court remands prophet for allegedly defrauding Widow at Gomoa Nyanyano She allegedly pointed out Abdul Karim to them, supplied the weapon that was to be used in the attack and promised to pay them after the operation. The prosecution further alleged that the wife participated in efforts to conceal the circumstances surrounding the killing by making it appear as though the house had been attacked by armed robbers. The allegations transformed the case from an unsolved robbery-related murder into an alleged conspiracy involving people known to the victim. Following the trial, the three accused persons were convicted. Dozer was convicted of murder and conspiracy, while Banana was convicted of conspiracy. Salamatu was convicted of abetment of murder, despite not being the person who physically inflicted the fatal injuries on her husband. The court found that her alleged role in facilitating the attack was sufficient to establish her participation in the crime. *Source: GhanaWeb*