Trader in court for posing as a journalist

Kade, Feb. 09, GNA - Elvis Amankwa, a trader, was on Tuesday arraigned before the Kade District Magistrate's Court for posing as a journalist an= d attempting to defraud a man of GHC 2,500.

Amankwa pleaded not guilty to both counts of impersonation and attempting to defraud by false pretences and has been granted a GHC 1,000= bail with two sureties, one of whom should have residential address within the district.

Police Inspector Francis Cobbina, prosecuting, told the court that about a couple of months ago one David Opare summoned the complainant before Kwamanghene for allegedly having an affair with his wife in the bush.

He said when the complainant was informed about the summons he also instituted a defamatory suit against Opare and his wife at the Akyem Swedru Circuit court.

On December 01, 2009, Amankwa went to the chief of Kwamang and posed= as a journalist working for the Chronicle newspaper and Peace FM and also an=

executive of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at National Headquart= ers in Accra. Amankwa claimed he had been sent from the party's headquarters to enquire from the chief what he knew about the case to enable them publish= it in the Chronicle and also to air it on Peace FM.

He said upon that false representation, the chief narrated how the matter came before him and Amankwa recorded same in his jotter. The prosecution said the accused later went to the wife of the complainant and again introduced himself to her as he did to the chief. Amankwa frightened her that her husband would be jailed on December 16 so she should inform him to pay GHC 2,500 to enable him to influence the case in their favour by seeing the judge and one Abeiku, younger brother of President John Atta Mills.

The woman led Amankwah to the complainant's mother at Kade where he again made the same false representation and demanded GHC 300 as transportation for which he was given GHC 30.

Later, the accused telephoned the complainant and emphasized the nee= d for him to pay GHC 2,500 to him to help him out of the case. The complainant, who suspected the accused as a fraudster, asked him= to come for the money on December 01. He said on that day the accused arrived at Kade ostensibly to coll= ect the GHC 2,500. The complainant lured him into a taxi cab and asked the driver to se= nd them to the Police station but when they were approaching the police stat= ion the accused jumped out of the moving vehicle and took to his heels but wa= s chased and arrested.