Sand winner to serve two years for stealing 37 cattle

A 38-year-old sand winner who stole 37 Cattle valued at GH₵37000.00 has been sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour by an Accra Circuit Court.

Ganiu Munkaila pleaded not guilty to abetment of committing a crime and stealing.

After a full trial, he was found guilty and convicted accordingly.

Munkaila was therefore convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour for stealing by the Court presided over by Mrs Afia Owusuaa Appiah.

Meanwhile, the convict was acquitted of abetment of crime.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Emmanuel Nyamekye, prosecuting, told the Court that the complainant was a businessman and a cattle farmer.

The prosecution said the witness Yakubu Usman was a cattle herdsman to the complainant, while the convict was a sand winner and a supervisor of the complainant’s herdsman at Kweikrom.

It said in 2013 the complainant entrusted his cattle business into the hands of the convict, following a commendation given to him by one Mallam Dramani.

The prosecution said the complainant gave GH₵37,000. 00 cash to the convict to buy 37 cattle to add up to the 21 cattle already in the custody of the convict.

It said the convict, after collecting the money, duly brought the cattle but failed to bring them into the complainant’s kraal.

The prosecution said, “About eight months ago, the convict made the complainant engage Usman to herd the cattle at Kweikrom.”

It added that the convict however handed over only 21 cows to the herdsman instead of 58 cows.

The prosecution said on May 24, 2020, the complainant invited the convict to meet him at the kraal to headcount the cattle, but the convict failed to attend.

“On May 25, 2020, the complainant went to the cottage again and called the convict to come to the cottage for the headcount of the cattle, but the convict refused and told the complainant that some of the cattle were not in the Kraal due to the unhealthy condition of the Kraal,” it added.

It said on May 30, 2020, the convict organised one Sakawa, Ibrahim and Jael currently at large to rob the herdsman of six cattle.

The prosecution said, the convict in his attempt to cover his involvement in the crime, included some herdsmen in the plot and informed the complainant that the robbers had robbed him of 60 cattle and led Police to arrest cattle herdsmen in the area.

It said the convict also disclosed the identities of cattle herdsmen to the witness before an identification parade was organised by the Police.