A man has been sentenced to 25 months in prison with hard labour for setting fire to three vehicles worth GH¢195,000 at a mechanic shop in Accra.
Emmanuel Lewis Ebuka, 35, was found guilty by the Accra Circuit Court 10 on three counts of unlawful damage. The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently.
The case began after Mr Joshua Nii Kuntso Alabi, an auto mechanic in Nungua, reported the incident. Police Chief Inspector Clement Takyi told the court that Ebuka, who is unemployed and has no fixed address, was seen sleeping in one of the vehicles at Alabi’s workshop located at Teshie Fertiliser in July 2025.
Workers at the shop asked Ebuka to leave and warned him not to return. But on August 8, 2025, around midnight, Ebuka came back to the workshop. He got into a Chrysler Voyager with the registration number GT 242 Z, smoked inside the vehicle, and then threw a cigarette butt inside it. This caused the vehicle to catch fire.
Ebuka fled after someone spotted him, but the fire quickly spread to other vehicles at the workshop. The blaze affected a Ford Ranger pickup (registration GW 2615 R), a Toyota 4Runner (registration GS 1990 Z), and a Toyota Tacoma pickup (registration GC 1421-10).
The complainant and his workers tried to put out the fire before firefighters from the Ghana National Fire Service arrived. The Chrysler Voyager, Ford Ranger, and Toyota 4Runner were completely destroyed. The Toyota Tacoma was only partially damaged.
The total value of the three destroyed vehicles was GH¢195,000, with the Chrysler Voyager valued at GH¢75,000, the Ford Ranger at GH¢40,000, and the Toyota 4Runner at GH¢80,000.
Ebuka was arrested and admitted the offence during his caution statement, according to Chief Inspector Takyi. After investigations, he was charged and brought before the court, which convicted and sentenced him.
Ebuka denied causing the damage during the trial, but the court found the evidence against him convincing. The fire has left the mechanic and his workers with heavy losses and disrupted their business operations.
The court’s ruling sends a clear message about the consequences of such acts of property destruction in Accra’s business districts.
According to Joy Online.
