The Wa High Court, presided by Justice Abdul Yussif Assibey, has sentenced Elisha Mahama to life imprisonment for the murder of Eric Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Royal Cozy Hills Hotel in Jirapa.
Meanwhile, he insisted on his innocence and denied killing his former boss after he was handed a sentence of life imprisonment.
The CEO, Eric Johnson, aged 60, was attacked, stabbed multiple times and killed on February 11, 2024, in his private residence, also located in the hotel.
According to the prosecution, his vehicle was driven away from his residence by his killer to escape from the crime scene unnoticed.
Available phone recordings to the police indicated that Elisha Mahama had several phone conversations with Belinda Miller whilst at the residence, asking her where he could locate master keys to the victim’s room.
Prosecution also revealed that the accused took unspecified amount of money from the room.
The Wa High Court on October 15, 2025, sentenced the accused, a 32-year-old Elisha Mahama, who was the Human Resource Manager at the hotel but was sacked three days before the murder.
He was dismissed due to sexual misconduct with female staff of the hotel, which bred ugly misunderstanding leading to low productivity.
Meanwhile, two other accused, aged 23 and 56, Belinda Milla and Kweku Kumbata, respectively, were acquitted and discharged.
Clement Eledi, the Counsel for Elisha Mahama, declined to comment on the verdict but quickly hinted that he will return to court on appeal.
The counsel for Belinda Miller and Kweku Kumbata, Luanga Bagonluri, on his part, accepted the judgment and commended the court for its unbiased verdict.
The prosecution was led by the Principal State Attorney, Saeed Abdul Shakuur, who also expressed satisfaction and described the outcome as a fair trial, adding that the case was grounded in strong scientific proof.
The Royal Cozy Hill Hotel, popularly known as “Jirapa Dubai,” came to the limelight in 2015 after the initial phases were completed and operationalised.
FROM NASIRU ALHASSAN, WA
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