Electoral offenders before court

Akyem Swedru(E/R), Jan. 5, GNA - A circuit court at Akyem Swedru, on Monday granted 5,000 Ghana cedis bail with a surety each to eight persons, who allegedly engaged in electoral offences. David Dakudzi, Sadik Mohammed, Mohammed Madzi, Michael Quarshie, John Anyere, Issahaku Abubakari, Kwabena Asare and Issah Sulemana charged for conspiracy to rob and robbing, would reappear at the court on January 27, 2009.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ayamga Yakubu, told the court presided over by Mr. Kwesi Akrowiah, that the Electoral Commission (EC) was the complainant in the case and said the accused persons were all residents of Akwatia.

He said that on December 7 last year, the EC conducted presidential and parliamentary elections throughout the 230 constituencies in the country including Akwatia.

DSP Yakubu said at about 0700 hours when voting started smoothly at all polling stations in the Akwatia Constituency, the accused persons and others now at large seize ballot boxes.

He said the accused person and those at large organised themselves into six groups to carry out their plan.

DSP Yakubu said the groups went simultaneously to some polling stations, namely Akwatia Lorry Park 'A' and "two" and lorry Park "D" and "Three", Yuroba Mosque "A" and "Four", Yoruba Mosque "D" and "Five", AME Zion Church and Presbyterian Junior High School separately for the ballot boxes. He said the groups applied excessive force and assaulted the security personnel and some election officials on duty at the polling stations.

DSP Yakubo said each group managed to take ballot boxes with the contents and some other election materials away, ending the election abruptly at the six polling stations. He said the EC was robbed of some parliamentary ballot boxes and five presidential ballot boxes and their contents. DSP Yakubo said the accused persons and their accomplices now at large besieged Akwatia Police Station to release their colleagues who were arrested, He said to avert trouble the Police granted bail to the culprits and asked them to report to the police but they jumped bail and they were rearrested.