An 18-year-old student of Adanwomase Senior High School has been convicted and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment with hard labour by a Circuit Court at Old Tafo in the Ashanti Region.

Gabriel Osei Kwame was found guilty of robbing Matilda Boatema, a teacher at Gyaman Pensan Senior High School, and pleaded guilty to the robbery charge under section 149 of the Criminal and Other Offences Act (Act 29) of 1960.

The incident occurred on March 4, 2024, at about 7:30 am, when Gabriel assaulted Matilda with a jackknife near her residence in Adanwomase. He robbed her of her Infinix Hot 9 smartphone valued at 700 cedis, cash amounting to 570 cedis, as well as rice, stew, and some documents.

Matilda promptly reported the robbery to the Asonomaso Police, who responded swiftly to the scene. Though her bag was found abandoned in a nearby bush, the phone and cash were missing.

Subsequent investigation led to the identification of Gabriel by Matilda on March 25 while he was in the company of a friend in Adanwomase, resulting in his arrest and handover to the Asonomaso police.

Initially denying involvement, Gabriel later confessed to the police, admitting to robbing the complainant and disclosing that he sold the stolen phone at Adum PZ for 250 cedis.

Despite his confession, Gabriel was unable to assist the police in recovering the phone. State prosecutor, Inspector Alfred Aruk, informed the court of this during proceedings.

Following the conclusion of the investigation, Gabriel was charged with robbery and brought before the court, where His Honour Festus Nukunu imposed a 15-year prison sentence with hard labor.