Yaw Asante Agyekum, a mechanic who was wrongly convicted in 2002 and sentenced to 35 years in prison for his alleged association with notorious armed robber Ataa Ayi has broken his silence after the Appeals Court acquitted and discharged him.
According to Yaw Asante Agyekum, his daughter was just a month old when he was wrongfully jailed.
The Mechanic after his release met his just a-month-old baby who is now 23.
The daughter expressed her joy following the court’s decision to set her father free.
Yaw Asante Agyekum was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison in December 2002 for conspiracy to commit robbery.
He sadly served over 20 years of his sentence but on June 5, 2025, the court’ acquitted and discharged him.
The counsel for Agyeman, Bernard Kwabena Shaw on April 28, 2025, argued that there was no evidence to support the prosecution’s claims linking his client to the robberies committed by Ataa Ayi.
“The link to Ataa Ayi was that most of the motorbikes used by the robbers in Ataa Ayi’s network were repaired in his [Agyeman’s] workshop. So, when the swoop was carried out on Ataa Ayi, for some reason, because they found Agyeman’s name on their phones, they charged him along with the others for conspiracy to commit robbery. He had no legal counsel and was sentenced to 35 years with the others,” Shaw told journalists.
Ataa Ayi known as Raymond Aryee Aryeetey was arrested for terrorising Ghanaians in the early 2000s with his syndicate of armed robbers.
He was known for his notorious robberies, carjacking, jewellery theft, house raids, and more.
In February 2005, Ataa Ayi was apprehended at his hideout by the police during a sting operation following a tip-off.
He was sentenced to 70 years and 20 years in separate cases of armed robbery by the Accra Fast Track High Court.
Meanwhile, some Ghanaians have shared their opinions saying, “ So Atta Ayi couldn’t tell the court that the motor fitter was not part of their gang ? What really happend during thr trial”.
“Mr Ken ofori Atta please bring some of the money you stole “allegedly” from Ghanaians so we can compensate this innocent man. We are pleading with you”, another stated.
One user stated, “In fact they wasted his life, his time, state should compensate him, because is not fair may the Lord be with him if is true indeed that he is not part, whose knows between he and God”.
Watch the video below:
“My daughter was just a month old when I went to jail”- Yaw Asante Agyekum, once jailed as Ataa Ayi’s accomplice, speaks after winning an appeal after serving 20-years of his 35-years sentence for robbery conspiracy. #TV3GH pic.twitter.com/PA4LmGzVy8
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) June 5, 2025
