The Wa High Court has sentenced Elisha Mahama, a former Human Resource Manager at the Royal Cosy Hills Hotel—popularly known as Jirapa Dubai—to life imprisonment for the murder of the resort’s owner, Eric Johnson.
Justice Yussif Assibey, who presided over the case, found Mahama guilty of the February 2024 killing but acquitted and discharged two co-accused individuals, Belinda Miller and Kweku Kankumbata.
Eric Johnson, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, was stabbed to death at his private residence in Jirapa on the night of February 10, 2024. His body was later discovered lying naked in a pool of blood.
The prosecution told the court that Mahama, who had been dismissed from the hotel for misconduct, scaled the wall of Johnson’s residence using a ladder, after making several calls to Belinda Miller to ask about the master key to the victim’s room.
Once inside, Mahama stabbed Johnson multiple times, taking an undisclosed amount of cash and the key to his Nissan car, which he used to flee the scene before abandoning the vehicle at Jirapa Zongo.
Investigations revealed that Mahama had earlier left another girlfriend, Laureate Asare, in his room under the pretext of buying her food before committing the crime.
Johnson, who founded Jirapa Dubai to create jobs and promote tourism in the Upper West Region, was celebrated for developing the 4-kilometre safari resort, which features zebras, an artificial lake, and aqua sports facilities.
His murder shocked many and sparked widespread calls for justice.
