The two teenagers charged for the murder of 10-year-old Ishmael Mensah Abdullah, at Kasoa, in the Central Region, will no longer face jury trial due to their ages, an Accra High Court has said.
Initially, the court was supposed to empanel a jury to hear the matter involving accused and if found guilty, they would face a three-year jail term.
The accused, Felix Nyarko, 16, and Nicholas Kini, 18, per the Juvenile Justice Act, could not be tried as adults.
The court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo said, said “I had stated, we were going to empanel the jury, but looking at the ages of accused they would not face jury trial.”
Justice Osei Marfo said accused, if found culpable, were likely to be sentenced to a maximum of three years under the Juvenile Justice Act.
The court adjourned the case to May 26, 2022, to enable the court set out the parameters for the trial of accused, which would be done summarily.
The teenagersare standing trial for allegedly causing the death of Ishmael.
The two accused were committed by theKaneshieDistrict Court to stand trial at the High Court over the death of the 10-year-old boy, who they allegedly lured into an uncompleted building and killed. – GNA