Woman Who Plotted Husband’s Murder To Marry US-Based Lover Sentenced To Death
The Supreme Court has affirmed the death sentence of Salamatu Karim, also known as Mother, for masterminding the murder of her husband, Abdul Karim, in order to marry a white man based in the United States.
Salamatu was convicted of abetment of murder alongside her brother, Awudu Alhassan Sulemana, a.k.a Dozer, and one Mohammed Sulemana, a.k.a Banana.
The Plot
According to police investigations, about four months before the murder, Salamatu contacted Awudu and told him about her relationship with the American. She told her brother that her husband’s presence would frustrate her plan to marry the foreigner and also complained of persistent domestic assault.
Awudu subsequently recruited Mohammed Sulemana and one Kofi Nyagbedzi to execute the plan. The police said the men were promised GH¢1,000.
How The Killing Was Carried Out
On June 15, 2013, the men were transported from Dodowa to Salamatu’s residence at ACP Estates near Pokuase.
Salamatu let them into the house and hid them in the bathroom with clubs and pieces of wood while awaiting her husband’s return.
She had laced his food with diazepam, commonly known as Valium, to sedate him.
After Abdul returned, ate the food and became weak, Salamatu called the men out. They attacked him, leaving him with a fractured skull, fractured jaw and other severe injuries. He was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
After the attackers left, Salamatu raised an alarm. At about 9:35 p.m., she reported to the police that armed robbers had invaded her home while she was bathing and killed her husband.
How Police Unravelled The Case
The case was cracked three days later during an unrelated operation.
On June 18, 2013, police arrested a group of suspected robbers planning to attack a hotel at Adenta. While in custody, one suspect received a call from Kofi checking if the operation had succeeded.
Police instructed the suspect to tell Kofi it was successful and invite him for his share. When Kofi arrived at the hotel, he was arrested.
During interrogation over the hotel robbery, Kofi made disclosures linking himself, Salamatu, Awudu and Mohammed to the killing of Abdul.
Acting on the lead, police traced Awudu and Mohammed to Dodowa and arrested them. The prosecution said both men confessed and implicated Salamatu as the planner and facilitator.
A taxi driver also came forward after media reports, identifying Salamatu as the person who hired him to convey the men from Dodowa to the residence on the day of the murder. Salamatu denied the allegation.
Trial At High Court
Salamatu, Awudu and Mohammed were arraigned before the Osu Magistrate Court and remanded while investigations continued. The case was later transferred to the High Court in Accra.
Awudu was charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder, Mohammed with conspiracy to commit murder, and Salamatu with abetment of murder. All pleaded not guilty.
At trial, Awudu and Mohammed challenged their confessional statements, alleging they were obtained through beating, electric shocks and coercion.
The High Court conducted a mini-trial on voluntariness and on December 17, 2015, ruled the statements were voluntarily made in the presence of an independent witness and admitted them in evidence.
Appeal Over Confession
Awudu and Mohammed appealed the ruling while the substantive trial was ongoing. On July 28, 2016, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and allowed the trial to continue.
At the end of trial, the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict. Awudu was convicted of murder and conspiracy, Mohammed of conspiracy to commit murder and Salamatu of abetment of murder. All three were sentenced to death.
The published judgments focused on the murder plot, medical evidence, the confessional statements and the roles of the convicts. Details such as the American boyfriend, the GH¢1,000 payment, the use of Valium and the taxi driver’s testimony were contained in police investigations and initial media briefings, not extensively captured in the judgments.
*Appeals Fail*
The convicts appealed to the Court of Appeal. On November 15, 2018, the court dismissed the appeal and affirmed the High Court’s decision, holding that the confessions were properly admitted and the jury was fairly directed.
They further appealed to the Supreme Court on 13 grounds, challenging the confessions, credibility of witnesses, jury directions and sentences.
On July 29, 2026, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the appeal.
The apex court held that the confessions were properly admitted and corroborated by Kofi’s testimony, medical evidence and the circumstances of the killing, and that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the murder was planned, that Awudu and Mohammed participated in it, and that Salamatu intentionally facilitated it.
Their convictions and death sentences were affirmed.
The fate of Kofi Nyagbedzi and other suspects arrested in connection with the Adenta hotel robbery was not captured in the final judgment, and no reliable record was found on the outcome of his separate robbery case.