Landlady in court for stealing

Cape Coast, Aug. 24, GNA - Mariama Kende, a 46-year old woman, has appeared before a circuit court in Cape Coast for stealing the belongings o= f her tenant, worth GH¢40,469.25 over a period of six years. She pleaded guilty to two counts of stealing and causing damage and pleaded with the court, presided over by Mrs. Florence Out, to give her tim= e to pay the money.

The judge therefore, deferred sentence to Wednesday, September 7 and remanded Kende into prison custody. Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Charles Anku told the court that about si= x years ago, Kende rented out a shop at Kotokuraba market to Madam Esi Samah, the complainant. He said the complainant, after a while started noticing that someone was stealing her items, made up of bags of rice and sugar, gallons of cooking oil, tinned tomatoes and fish in her grocery shop. He said even though Madam Sabah kept changing the padlocks to the shop= , the theft continued, so she told Kende about it and she urged her to exercise restraints as the thief will one day be caught. Chief Inspector Anku said not long after, an informant hinted Madam Samah that Kende had been selling some items such as rice and oil to some people at the Abura market at night, and based on that information, surveillance was mounted on her.

He said on May, 20 this year, Kende's room was searched and some of the stolen items were found there and she was arrested by the police. She admitted the offence and told the police that she access to the store through the back of the shop by removing a wooden panel and later nails it back after stealing the items.