REPUBLIC v. RAZAK SULEMAN

Justice Emmanuel Atsu Lodoh of the High Court sentenced Razak Suleman following his guilty plea to rape, threat of death, and threat of harm after a full jury trial had commenced. The prosecutor’s narrative established that Suleman and an accomplice, armed with a knife and a small axe, coerced an 18‑year‑old from Dunkwa‑on‑Offin onto a motorcycle, took her to rooms in Dunkwa Zongo where they used a staff wrapped in red and black cloth and a doll to intimidate her, then raped her sequentially. After the victim reported and submitted to medical examination, Suleman apologized and admitted sex without consent. At sentencing, counsel urged concurrent terms under Section 301 of Act 30 due to a prior 19 July 2022 conviction for conspiracy to commit rape and unnatural carnal knowledge. The court held that Section 301 applied only to the threat counts, not rape, and emphasized deterrence given the gravity and regional prevalence of sexual offences. Guided by statutes (Act 29 and Act 30), it imposed 11 years for rape, 5 years for threat of death, and 2 years for threat of harm; ordered the two threat sentences to run concurrently and concurrently with the earlier sentence; and directed the rape sentence to run consecutively. The convict was advised of his right to appeal.