The High Court in Wa has handed a life imprisonment sentence to Elisha Mahama, the principal suspect in the murder of hotel owner of the Royal Cosy Hills Hotel, popularly known as Jirapa ‘Dubai’, Eric Johnson.
On Wednesday, October 15, 2025, a seven-member jury unanimously found Mahama—who served as the Human Resource Manager at the hotel—guilty of murder.
Two other accused persons, Belinda Miller and Kweku Kombata, were acquitted and discharged.
The ruling concludes nearly a year of trial, a case that had captivated residents of the Upper West Region.
Speaking to journalists after the verdict, Principal State Attorney Saeed Abdul Shakur, who represented the Johnson family, said the decision offered a sense of closure.
“I’m excited to an extent. The wheels of justice, they say, grind slowly. We may never get Eric Johnson back, but at least justice has been served,” he stated.
The owner of the hotel, Eric Johnson was discovered in a pool of blood in one of the hotel rooms on Sunday, February 11, 2024.
A total of seven people were arrested in connection with the murder of the Eric Johnson.
It was confirmed that Johnson’s attacker or attackers used a ladder to climb over his wall before using a master card to gain access to his room.
The deceased is believed to have finished taking his bath before the attack. He was found on the floor with his towel around him and bearing deep wounds on his body suspected to have been inflicted by his killer or killers.
His car was driven out of the compound but was later found abandoned in town.
Seven people were earlier picked up for interrogation over the murder.
Elisha Mahama, a former Human Resource Manager at the hotel, was dismissed from his position after allegedly engaging in multiple sexual relationships with over four female employees.
These affairs reportedly led to conflicts and unhealthy rivalries among the women, disrupting operations at the hotel.
According to the prosecution, on the night of February 10, 2024, Mahama unlawfully entered the private residence of Eric Johnson by scaling the fortified fence with the help of a ladder.
Police investigations revealed that Mahama made several phone calls to Belinda Miller while inside the premises, seeking information on where to find the master key to Johnson’s room.
The prosecution told the court that Mahama subsequently entered Johnson’s room and stabbed him multiple times, leaving him naked and in a pool of blood.
He was also said to have taken an unspecified amount of money and the key to Johnson’s private Nissan vehicle, which he used to flee the scene before abandoning the car at Jirapa Zongo, the prosecution added.
