A former Assistant Manager at the Chicken Inn and Pizza Inn, branch at Accra Mall, Collins Acquah who was charged with stealing an amount of GHC19,904 from his employers has been jailed 5 years with hard labour by the Achimota Circuit court.

The prosecution told the Court presided over by Akosua Anokyewaa Adjapong that Acquah accessed the vault room where the proceeds from December 25 and 26, 2023, were kept due to the Christmas holidays.

Around 4:23 am on December 27, 2023, he allegedly stole the cash of GHC19,904.
The incident which was captured on CCTV footage, was reviewed later that day, confirming the theft.

Following the incident, Collins Acquah fled to Cape Coast and went into hiding.

The prosecution indicated that efforts by the management of Chicken Inn and Pizza Inn to contact him proved futile causing them to report the case to the Airport Police Station, until he was arrested and paraded before the court.

When the case was called on Monday 10th June 2024, Acquah, who was not represented by a counsel, admitted not guilty to the offence.

He was charged with stealing under Section 123(1) and 124(1) of the Criminal Offenses Act, 1960 (Act 29).

In court on Monday 10th June 2024, a family member said, that Collins spent substantial part of his monthly salary on betting activities, adding that when he stumbled upon an opportunity to steal, he could not resist. With a clouded mind, he succumbed to the allure of easy money and decided to take the risk.

In court on Thursday 20th June 2024, when the case was called, Collins Acquah drew the attention of the court that, after a sober reflection for seven days in police remand, he would like to change his earlier plea from not guilty to guilty. When he was asked by the Judge as to the whereabouts of the stolen cash, he couldn’t say anything meaningful.

The Presiding Judge, Akosua Anokyewaa Adjapong, found Collins guilty on his own plea and sentenced him to 5years imprisonment with hard Labour.

In delivering her judgment, Mrs, Akosua Adjapong, took into consideration the age of the accused, being a first-time offender and voluntarily admitting guilt.

He is to pay a 100 penalty unit which is GHC1,200 to his former employer and also refund the full amount of GHS 19,904 stolen.

Per the judgement, he will serve an additional two years if he fails to pay the 100 penalty unit.

His former employer, Chicken Inn, Pizza Inn is seriously considering civil action to retrieve all the stolen money.

-BY Daniel Bampoe

The Aflao Circuit Court in the Volta Region, presided over by Joseph Ofosu Behome has sentenced a 39-year-old man, Klutsey Korledzo to 20 years imprisonment in hard labour for having sexual intercourse with his daughter and getting her pregnant.

The accused was convicted on the charge of incest under section 105 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

According to the Prosecutor, Police Inspector Albert Kumbor, on January 28, 2024, the complainant (name withheld) brought his 16-year-old niece (victim) to the Agavedzi Police Station and reported that the victim disclosed to him that her father had sexual intercourse with her on multiple occasions between November and December 2023.

The Prosecutor explained to the court that the complainant said Korledzo forcibly had multiple sexual intercourse with the victim, when her mother was away on a business trip.

He said the victim confided in the complainant that the convict threatened to kill her if she dared tell anyone about the act, and the victim was suspected to be pregnant, thus, a police medical report was issued to the complainant to send her to the hospital for examination.

He said the report from the Ketu South Municipal Hospital confirmed that the victim was pregnant for two months.

However, the police went to arrest Korledzo, who confessed to the crime, detained him for investigation and later arraigned him before the Court on Friday, where he was convicted on his own plea.

-BY Daniel Bampoe

A United States Army Major, Kojo Owusu Dartey, currently assigned to Fort Liberty, has been found guilty by a federal jury on multiple charges of dealing in firearms without a license, delivering firearms without notice to the carrier, smuggling goods from the United States and illegally exporting firearms without a license.

He was also charged with making false statements to an agency of the United States, making false declarations before the court, and conspiracy. Owusu Dartey, age 42, faces a maximum penalty of 240 months when sentenced on July 23, 2024.

The firearms which were concealed within blue barrels of rice and household goods were smuggled to Ghana.

“We are partnering with law enforcement agencies across the globe to expose international criminals – from money launderers to rogue international arms traffickers capable of fueling violence abroad,” said U.S Attorney Michael Easley.

“Through a partnership with Ghanaian officials, this rogue Army Major was convicted at trial after smuggling guns to Ghana in blue barrels of rice and household goods.

“I want to thank the Ghana Revenue Authority and the International Cooperation Unit Office of the Attorney-General of Ghana for their assistance in the investigation. I also commend the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) attachés to U.S. Embassy Accra and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs of the Department’s Criminal Division for their significant assistance to this prosecution.”

“Far from being a victimless crime, firearms trafficking threatens public safety across our nation and beyond,” said Toni M. Crosby, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Baltimore Field Division. “The Baltimore Field Division is proud to partner with the Ghana Revenue Authority and ATF’s Charlotte and Louisville Field Divisions for this investigation, which has kept firearms off the streets — preventing them from being used in any number of killings and other crimes — and ended this international firearm trafficking scheme.”

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, between June 28 and July 2, 2021, Dartey purchased seven firearms in the Fort Liberty area and tasked a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to purchase three firearms there and send them to Dartey in North Carolina.

Dartey then hid all the firearms, including multiple handguns, an AR15, 50-round magazines, suppressors, and a combat shotgun inside blue barrels underneath rice and household goods and smuggled the barrels out of the Port of Baltimore, Maryland, on a container ship to the Port of Tema in Ghana.

The Ghana Revenue Authority recovered the firearms and reported the seizure to the DEA attaché in Ghana and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division. At the same time, Dartey was a witness in the trial of U.S. v. Agyapong.

A case that involved a 16-defendant marriage fraud scheme between soldiers on Fort Liberty and foreign nationals from Ghana that Dartey had tipped off officials to. In preparation for the trial, Dartey lied to federal law enforcement about his sexual relationship with a defence witness and lied on the stand and under oath about the relationship.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announced after Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II accepted the verdict.

The ATF, Army Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabriel J. Diaz prosecuted it with technical assistance from David Ryan, DOJ Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

Leader of the Liberal Party of Ghana, Percival Kofi Akpaloo, has deflated former President John Mahama’s argument that he left Ghana in a better shape than what we have now.

Former President Mahama recently, on his campaign tour, said that he bequeathed a more resilient and better economy to the Akufo-Addo administration, but things have deteriorated after almost eight years in power.

Speaking on Asempa FM’s flagship show, Ekosiisen, Kofi Akpaloo, however, disagreed with the former president.

According to Mr. Akpaloo, things have rather improved and gotten better under the current administration.

“I agree with Mahama that this is not the Ghana he left for us. When he was leaving, there was no implementation of Free SHS. When leaving, the Kumasi-Accra road which is under construction now, was in a very bad shape” he stated.

Things have changed in Ghana, Kofi Akpaloo stated. “Go to Adugyama today and witness the construction of an Agenda 111 Hospital project. Every senior high school is full today with students with lots of facilities provided by this government”

“Apprentices in sewing and hairdressing have reduced considerably as a result of the implementation of the Free SHS programme,” he added.

“The Kumasi-Obuasi road, (Anhweankwanta) has been constructed under this regime. Ghana has indeed changed for the better under Akufo-Addo” Mr Akpaloo indicated.

He continued; “Ghana has changed so much under Akufo-Addo that the Bolgatanga-Bawku road has been constructed. The Abirem to Nkawkaw road has been constructed. Ghana has truly changed”

He urged Mr Mahama to stop wishing doom and failure upon this administration as that constitutes political witchcraft.

He asked Mahama to tell Ghanaians what he would add to the massive developments and changes Ghana has seen under the presidency of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in case he is elected as president again.

The Concerned Drivers Association of Ghana has suspended a planned 15% increment in transport fares which was to take effect on Monday, July 22, 2024.

The planned 15% hike in transport fares by the concerned Drivers Association of Ghana was attributed to the rising cost of fuel and other essentials such as spare parts for the transport business.

However, the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), urged commuters to disregard the announcement.

Public Relations Officer of the Concerned Drivers Association of Ghana, David Agboado, in an interview with Citi Business News explained that the timing for the increment will compound the woes of the public, thus necessitating the suspension

“We the transport operators have sat together and do our own thing. We have come to the understanding that things have been increased…fuel, spare parts and everything is up but this is not the time that we should increase the transport fare that is why we have come together to say we won’t increase it again.

“If you ask me, transport fares will not be going up because we the transporters have understood ourselves,” he stated.

David Agboado has meanwhile urged commercial drivers to continue charging old fares until an appropriate time to increase fares.

“What I will tell my fellow drivers is that they should exercise patience. It is we that increased. They have appointed us to do that and we are doing that in their interest. This one too is in their interest and we are doing it so they should exercise patience. They shouldn’t get angry. The right time will come,” he said.

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Rescue efforts are ongoing in Nigeria’s north-western Kebbi state after a passenger boat capsized on the River Niger.

Officials have told the BBC that four bodies have so far been recovered and 25 people have been rescued.

It is not clear how many people were on board the vessel when it overturned on Monday in strong currents common during the rainy season.

Some reports suggest it may have been carrying 50 passengers.

Such boats are often overloaded and accidents are common on poorly regulated waterways.

In June this year at least 106 people drowned in the River Niger in south-western Kwara state when a boat with more than 300 passengers sank.