Bolt driver jailed 25 years for robbing, attacking passenger

A 22-year-old motor mechanic who also worked as a Bolt driver has been sentenced to 25 years in prison with hard labour after robbing and attacking a female passenger at Adenta.

Emmanuel Kofi Mensah pleaded guilty to robbery before the Adenta Circuit Court. The court, presided over by Mrs Angela Attachie, convicted him on his own plea and imposed the sentence.

The victim, Yvonne Dzane Dzifa, a beautician, had booked Mensah’s vehicle from Madina Zongo Junction to Adenta at about 10:00 p.m. on September 23, 2026.

According to the prosecution, when the vehicle reached Adenta Barrier, Dzifa asked Mensah to stop so she could get out. Instead, he allegedly locked the doors and continued driving towards the Adenta-Dodowa road.

Chief Inspector Maxwell Lanyo told the court that Mensah eventually stopped at Mantey Farms, where he demanded the passenger’s handbag and other belongings. When she resisted, he pulled out a cutlass and threatened her.

A struggle followed, during which Mensah dragged Dzifa from the vehicle and repeatedly struck her in an attempt to force her to release the bag.

The prosecution said Mensah eventually slashed her left wrist and little finger with the cutlass and took the bag. It contained an iPhone 17 Pro Max valued at GH¢18,000, an iPhone 12 worth GH¢3,500, GH¢3,200 in cash and other personal items.

Mensah then allegedly contacted another man, who arrived on a motorbike. That person remains at large.

During the incident, Dzifa managed to grab a backpack from the front seat of the vehicle and run into a nearby bush. Mensah and the alleged accomplice chased her but failed to catch her.

She later climbed over the wall of a nearby house and remained there until the following morning. The landlord subsequently alerted the police, who came to her aid.

Officers later searched the backpack she had taken from the vehicle and found a tablet and mini-laptop suspected to have been stolen.

Dzifa, who had suffered a deep wound to her wrist and little finger as well as bruises on her body, was issued a medical form and treated at the Pantang Government Hospital before being discharged.

Mensah’s arrest came the following afternoon when he attempted to sell the iPhone 17 Pro Max at an Apple shop at Madina Zongo Junction.

The shop owner reportedly became suspicious after seeing Dzifa’s photograph on the device and caused Mensah’s arrest before handing him over to police.

Police officers who searched Mensah found a cutlass concealed in his shorts, which prosecutors said was the same weapon used during the attack.

Mensah later admitted the offence in his caution statement and asked for forgiveness.

The court also heard that he claimed the Bolt vehicle belonged to a Nigerian friend, but had been unable to identify either that person or the alleged accomplice.

Police say investigations are continuing to trace the other persons believed to have been involved in the robbery.