Ghanaian Man Gets Life Sentence for 2021 Marsa Killing

Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera handed down the life sentence after Kwaku was convicted of the wilful homicide of Isaac Kwabena Kyere, 23, who was stabbed at least 18 times in Marsa in 2021. The court also ordered Kwaku to pay over €19,000 in court expenses.

The jury returned a unanimous verdict on the wilful homicide charge. Kwaku was also found guilty of unlawful detention accompanied by bodily harm by six votes to three, and of carrying a weapon during a crime against a person by eight votes to one. He was acquitted of disobeying police orders.

His legal aid lawyer had argued against a life sentence on the grounds that the homicide verdict was not unanimous, but the court rejected that argument.

Evidence presented at trial indicated the two men had argued over a bottle of whisky at a friend's home before the confrontation moved to the street near a pedestrian bridge, where Kyere was fatally stabbed. Emergency doctors testified that Kyere arrived at the scene in cardiac arrest and was covered in wounds consistent with a violent assault. A knife believed to be the murder weapon was found beneath a tree near the scene.

Kwaku had been released on bail while awaiting trial. During that time, in November 2025, he committed an armed robbery at a convenience store in Santa Venera, holding an employee against her will. He pleaded guilty to that offence and received a four-year prison sentence.