The Tamale High Court, under the leadership of His Lordship Justice Charles Kwesi Acheampong, has sentenced 48-year-old Abdallah Mohammed to 15 years’ imprisonment with hard labour for defiling a 14-year-old girl.
A case which caught the attention of many especially child rights organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations in the Tamale enclave and beyond finally ended as the trial judge pronounced the verdict. In delivering the ruling in court yesterday, 8th June, 2026, the trail judge found that Mohammed gave false testimony while under oath during cross-examination. Norsaac, a Local NGO located in Tamale monitored the case closely and provided support to the victim in the legal battle which started in February 2026 describing the accused as “influential Man”.
In a tough legal tussle, the prosecution maintained that the victim was 14 years old while the Counsel for the accused claimed she was 18. He argued that, based on her physical appearance and the nature of their interactions, he believed she was an adult.
The defence further challenged the prosecution’s documentary evidence, particularly the birth certificate. They presented a report from the Births and Deaths Registry indicating that the certificate could not be found or traced in the registry’s database.
Despite these objections, the court relied on the testimony of the victim and her guardian, as well as evidence from earlier proceedings at the Circuit Court. The court concluded that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the girl was 14 years old, leading to Mohammed’s conviction for defilement.
Mohammed, however, was acquitted of a separate count of abortion-related charge. The court ruled that the prosecution did not sufficiently establish that he caused or influenced the victim to end her pregnancy.
