Crowd Disappointed At Sentence

Asamankese -- The large number of people that thronged the Asamankese Circuit Court to witness the trial and sentencing of a notorious goat thief, Afia Ansah, was disappointed, as she was fined a paltry ?700,000 and set free.

The crowd openly showed their disapproval apparently against the background that a two-year sentence was slammed on a man a week before the accused, who was also found guilty of stealing a goat.

According to the prosecution, for some time now there had been the mysterious loss of goats at the Old Zongo at Asamankese with some of the inhabitants losing as many as three goats.

He said on April 16, Afia was caught red-handed stealing a goat belonging to one Robert, a chop bar attendant. She was arrested and sent to the police station and was subsequently arraigned before court the same day and was put on remand to reappear on April 30.

However, on her reappearance, she was fined ?700,000 and set free.

The prosecutor said children in the vicinity also alleged that they had on several occasions been persuaded by Afia under the pretext of retrieving her missing but found goats.

He said the professional and deft manner in which Afia carried out her operations, sometimes on market days, convinced all those who had been assisting her and onlookers alike to believe that the goats actually belonged to her.

One of the prosecution witnesses, Mr Umoru Yakubu, claimed that he had on several occasions seen Afia being assisted by children to catch goats which she said were her own and had escaped from their pen.

Mr Yakubu said he had on four occasions been the temporary custodian of goats Afia claimed were hers, while she left and resurfaced later with a taxi to relocate her booty.

The court ordered Afia to pay ?300,000 out of the fine to Memunatu Amata, wife of the District Chief Imam who reported the loss of her goat on the eve of the arrest of the accused.

Robert, through whose goat Afia was exposed was asked by the court to take his goat home since it was retrieved alive.