Three appear in Teshie court over alleged kidnapping and murder of phone dealer Nana Yaw Kyere

Pinned summary · as of 04:55

On 28 September a district court at Teshie heard the case of three people, Sarah Osei Adams, Philip Dzifa Kofi Tefe and Josiah Obodai, who face allegations of kidnapping and murder after the death of Nana Yaw Kyere. Mr Kyere was a 33-year-old phone dealer from Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra. The magistrate put the case off until 16 October 2026. Police say the three remain in custody while they check whether anyone else played a part.

What we know

• Mr Kyere, who was also called Terry or Dinero, was reported missing to police on 22 September 2026. Police said he had driven his Honda Civic out of his home in Kokomlemle on 19 September and never came back.
• Police arrested Mr Tefe, Ms Adams and Mr Obodai after work by the Missing Persons Unit. They were then taken to court, where the case was put off to 16 October 2026 once the charge sheet had been read to them.
• Police allege that Ms Adams lured Mr Kyere to Mr Tefe's home at Teshie Agbleza. According to the police account, Mr Tefe and Ms Adams later confessed to being involved, and Mr Tefe admitted striking the victim with a metal object.
• Police further allege that Mr Kyere was moved to another room and left without help, and that he later died. They say his body was then driven in a Kia Morning to a spot near the motorway on 20 September, dumped in bush and set on fire.
• Police said badly burnt remains turned up at Community 18 on 21 September. Mr Kyere's mother and an uncle identified them at the Police Hospital morgue on 24 September.
• Police say Mr Kyere's iPhone 12 has been recovered after being traced to a man who allegedly bought it from Mr Tefe for GH₵100. The buyer has been cautioned and held on suspicion of receiving the phone dishonestly.
• Mr Obodai was picked up in connection with what police describe as getting rid of the body. Investigators also seized a Kia Morning that belongs to his father and that they think carried it.
• Around midnight on the Sunday before he was reported missing, messages went out from Mr Kyere's phone saying he had been "set up" in a room in Teshie. A colleague who received them became suspicious of the wording, and the room photograph and location that came with them were later erased from the chat.
• Relatives told reporters that the body showed signs of an attempt to burn it.
• Prophet Kofi Oduro, who leads Alabaster International Ministry, addressed Mr Kyere's death in a sermon on Sunday 27 September. He offered condolences to the family, said the young man had been murdered, and urged young men to be careful about the relationships they enter.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Accounts of where the body was found differ. Early reports from The Ghana Report, YEN.com.gh and MyNewsGH said it was found in Teshie on 24 September, whereas police put the discovery at Community 18 three days earlier. Nkonkonsa reported a claim that the body had been buried at Teshie, and YEN.com.gh cited reports that a suspect led police to a burial place near the sea.
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  Nkonkonsa, YEN.com.gh and MyNewsGH each carried claims that one suspect had posed as a soldier. The police account does not mention this, and it has not been confirmed.
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  Nobody has confirmed why Mr Kyere was targeted. Nkonkonsa cited circulating reports of a quarrel over a woman, GhPage cited reports of a catfishing scheme, and YEN.com.gh quoted relatives who said a woman befriended him for weeks before luring him to Teshie. Police have not given a motive in the statements reported.
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  GhPage reported that Mr Tefe appeared in a video circulated on X, saying he and Mr Kyere fought and that he left the room for a walk afterwards. This differs from the police account of the attack, and the video has not been verified by police.
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  Earlier reports from YEN.com.gh and MyNewsGH, citing AdomTV and other media, spoke of three arrests that included a mechanic said to have reported the Honda Civic to police and to have been granted bail. That differs from the three named suspects in the police statement, and police have not addressed the mechanic's role.
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  MyNewsGH noted that official autopsy findings and a confirmed cause of death had not been released in the reports it reviewed.
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  YEN.com.gh reported that friends of Mr Kyere demanded police accountability and said they were ready to demonstrate if needed, and that many Ghanaians want a thorough and transparent investigation. It also carried a call for justice from actress Akuapem Poloo. These reactions were not carried elsewhere.

Why it matters for Ghana

Mr Kyere traded phones at Kwame Nkrumah Circle, one of Accra's busiest commercial districts, and his friends and colleagues there are among those pressing for answers. The court case will test the account police have given, while many details circulating online, from motive to the role of other people, remain unconfirmed. For residents of Teshie and for traders who meet buyers and sellers to close deals, the reports have prompted public concern about safety and about how quickly missing-person cases are handled.