‘My daughter was a month old when I went to jail’ – Wrongfully convicted Ataa Ayi’s accomplice speaks

Yaw Asante Agyekum, who was wrongfully convicted as an accomplice of convicted robber Ataa Ayi, has opened up about his ordeal after the Court of Appeal acquitted and discharged him on June 5, 2025, granting him his freedom.

Speaking to the media at the court premises after the verdict was delivered, Asante Agyekum said he was sentenced to over 30 years and imprisoned despite his innocence, noting that he went to jail when his daughter was just a month old.

According to him, he was not part of the robbery gang he was convicted of, but acknowledged that he knew Ataa Ayi as a commercial driver whose vehicle he used to repair.

“I’m a mechanic who repairs motorcycles. I receive lots of people at my shop who come there to fix their motorcycles. I knew Ataa Ayi and where he lived because I repaired his vehicle, but I never knew he was an armed robber. All I knew was that he was a taxi driver,” he told journalists.

Asante Agyekum further stated that on the fateful day of his arrest, he had travelled to Kwahu to visit his sick mother when he was apprehended by the police.

He added that his pleas of innocence and claims of having no knowledge of the crimes he was accused of seemingly fell on deaf ears, leading to his arrest after spending eight years on remand.

He also revealed that some of his family members suffered as a result of the accusations, with some being detained for over six months at WAJU.

“I travelled to Kwahu one day to visit my sick mother when I was arrested in church. They told me that I was part of the robbery gang. All my pleas were ignored and I was sent to remand for 8 years and jailed 35 years.

“My sister and aunt were all arrested and detained at WAJU for over six months. I used to have a shop but it collapsed. I have a son and a daughter who was just a month old when I went to jail. I have always maintained my innocence and I have never engaged in robbery,” he added.

Asante Agyekum has been acquitted and discharged by the Court of Appeal after spending over 20 years in jail for conspiracy to commit robbery.

This follows the court’s judgement on the case on Thursday, June 5, 2025, after determining whether Agyeman’s conviction should stand or if his sentence should be reduced after 8 years of legal battle.

Agyekum, a wrongfully convicted mechanic, was sentenced to 35 years in prison in December 2002 for conspiracy to commit robbery, serving over 20 years of his sentence.

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