Wedding reception gate crasher charged with stealing gift
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 16 August 2000
The Brong Ahafo Regional Tribunal on Monday rebuked the police for the
way they handled a motor accident, which enabled some people to loot 22 million
cedis worth of frozen fish from the vehicle involved.
Mr. K Adu-Gyamfi, the tribunal Chairman, expressed regret about the
negligence of the police in the handling of the case while sentencing five
persons to various terms of imprisonment.
"Evidence from a number of witnesses indicated that many of the
residents of Tuobodom, Tanoboase and Kranka were involved in the stealing of
the fish from the accident vehicle," he said.
Mr. Adu-Gyamfi said that if the police had conducted an intensive
search in the three towns, a lot more people would have been prosecuted.
He said it was unfortunate that only one policeman, who was not armed,
was assigned to control the milling crowd at the accident scene and wondered
why assistance was not sought from the Techiman Police, which is only four
kilometres away.
Joseph Kwaku Opoku, Kwame Simon, Kwaku Yeboah, Kofi Bonsu and Kwadwo
Peprah, all of Tuobodom, pleaded not guilty. They are to serve jail terms
ranging between one and two years.
The tribunal had heard that on February 22 last year, a cargo truck
that was conveying 750 cartons of frozen fish from Tema to Kintampo had an accident,
when it burst a tyre near Tuobodom.
The five accused persons and 16 others rushed to the scene and instead
of assisting the driver, they looted the fish and bolted.
A policeman, who was detailed to guard the accident vehicle, however,
managed to record the registration numbers of the vehicles that the convicts
used in looting the fish, and this facilitated their arrest.
GRi.../
Accra (Greater Accra) 16 August 2000
The Accra Regional Tribunal chaired by Mr. Justice Benjamin Tetteh will
on Friday, August 18, hear a suit filed against the Bank of Ghana (BOG) and two
persons for contempt.
The Governor of the bank and the Director of Human Resources
Development have been jointly cited for contempt by Sebastian Gavor, former
Director of the bank's Department of Budget and Accounts.
Gavor and two others, Justice Ofosu Larbie, former deputy director of
the Banking Department, and Alhaji Sadiq Gimala, a businessman and chief of the
Wangara Community in Accra, are being tried for their alleged involvement in a
seven-billion-cedi fraud scandal that hit the bank in May.
On July 17, the trial tribunal chaired by Mr. Justice Isaac Duose
ordered the Bank of Ghana to rescind its decision to dismiss the two bankers.
The bank ordered that the two former officials should rather be
interdicted until the case against them is determined.
In a supporting affidavit, Gavor explained that on June 30, he received
a dismissal letter from the bank alleging that he had breached the bank's rules
of employment.
Consequently, the bank stopped the payment of his salary and other
benefits, such as the use of his official car and medical care.
Gavor stated that his solicitors wrote to inform the bank of the need
to restore him to the "status quo", as ordered by the trial tribunal.
According to him, taking cognisance of the fact that the orders had to
be complied with within seven days, he issued a cheque for 250,000 cedis, which
the bank not only dishonoured, but marked "account non-operational".
He said following these developments, he requested for a statement of
account, which the bank also turned down.
Gavor explained that despite the request by his solicitors to restore
his official car and other benefits denied him, the Governor being head of the
bank, and the Director of Human Resources Development who initialled the
letter, have "shown gross disrespect" for the trial tribunal for not
obeying its orders.
"Such disobedience exhibited to the tribunal is deliberate and
intentional and is tantamount to undermining the integrity of the
tribunal." This, he said, amounts to contempt.
Meanwhile, an appeal by the Attorney-General's Department against the
order by the trial tribunal for the Bank of Ghana to reverse its decision to
dismiss its two former officials, is pending at the Court of Appeal.
Also pending at the Supreme Court for determination is an ex-parte
motion filed by BOG for an order of certiorari to quash the orders made against
it by the trial tribunal.
GRi.../
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 16 August 2000
An 18-year-old apprentice hairdresser who gate crashed at a wedding
reception and stole a wedding present has appeared before a Kumasi Circuit
Tribunal.
Hadiza Ali has been charged with stealing 18 million cedis belonging to
the couple Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Agyeman.
The accused who is being investigated for a similar offence pleaded not
guilty and she was remanded in custody to re-appear on Thursday, August 17.
Prosecuting, Chief Inspector of Police, Ms. Regina Kesewa told the
tribunal chaired by Mr. Justice Ernest Yao Obimpe that last May, the couple had
their wedding at the Church of Pentecost at Kropo near Kumasi. Although the accused
was not invited, she managed to get herself involved in serving the guests at
the reception during which she had access to where the gift parcels were being
kept.
Chief Inspector Kesewa said the groom's father detected in the course
of the reception that the travelling bag containing money and other gifts given
to the couple was hidden under one of the chairs in the hall and took it back
to where it was originally kept.
After the refreshment the guests went for dinner leaving Hadiza and the
groom's mother behind to wash plates. However the accused soon left
unceremoniously.
Chief Inspector Kesewa said when the family returned from the dinner it
was detected that the bag containing the money was missing.
A report was made to the police and during investigations the police
had information that the accused had been arrested at Asokwa for a similar
offence. The groom's father went there and identified her as the one who had
assisted at the wedding.
GRi.../