In September 2020 the five were arrested by the police after they blocked the Aweim road from Accra with sand and attacked the Aweim and Mepe police stations in the Volta Region.
The High Court on March 17 convicted the five accused after finding them guilty of offenses against the Prohibited Organizations Act 1976 (Supreme Military Council Decree/SMCD 20).
The perpetrators were arrested in 2020 as members of the Western Togoland Foundation, who attacked a police station in Aweim, freed prisoners, stole ammunition, blocked roads leading to the Volta Region and shot a police officer.
Before sentencing, the counsel for the convicts urged the court in their mitigation prayer that the convicts had been in custody for the entire duration of the trial for more than two years, were first-time offenders and juveniles before sentencing.
But the prosecution prayed the court to give a severe sentence that would deter other persons on trial and plots to indulge in similar acts.
The judge considered the arguments and observed that the offenders’ actions were premeditated and aggravated and hence the maximum sentence of five years should be applied.
The first defendant, Ebenezer Gblorkpor, was found guilty and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment at hard labor (IHL) for those convicted on counts one, two and four.
A second accused, Afetorgbor Kpogo, was found guilty and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on the first count alone and sent to hard labour.
The third defendant (Joseph Nyamewu), the fourth defendant (Wisdom Kuvor), and the fifth defendant (Israel Bessah Kepexar) were all found guilty and convicted on counts three and four and sentenced to five years’ rigorous imprisonment.