Caretaker of cocoa affairs court appears in court for stealing

Accra, July 8, GNA - Three persons including the caretaker of Cocoa Affairs Court on Friday appeared before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly stealing a land title certificate used in securing bail for an accused, one Ernest Adorsoo.

They are Thomas Dzovor, the caretaker, Mamud Bayaro, a self styled bail contractor and Asumani Fosu, a business executive. Dzovor and Bayaro charged with conspiracy to steal and stealing, pleaded not guilty before the court presided over by Mr Eric Kyei Baffour and were admitted to GHc40,000 bail each with two sureties. The court said one of the sureties must be a public servant earning a monthly salary of at least GHc450. The third accused, Fosu, was charged with dishonestly receiving a land title certificate.

Fosu initially pleaded guilty to the charge but his counsel, Mr Samuel Owusu, prayed the court to take his plea again since he did not know what he was saying because his client had some mental problems. When his charge was read out to him again, Fosu started hallucinating and the court ordered that he should be taken to the psychiatric hospital for medical examination.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Reindolf Agyemang, prosecuting, told the court that the complainant, Mr Sylvanus Dzomeku is a businessman resident at Christian Village near Achimota, Accra. He said sometime in July 2005, the complainant used his land title certificate to secure bail for Ernest Adorsoo his nephew. ASP Agyemang said in 2008, the case was disposed off, so Mr Dzomeku contacted the Registrar of the court for his documents but the Registrar told him they could not be traced. The prosecutor said sometime in March this year, the Senior Registrar of the court had no alternative than to issue the complainant a letter to the Lands Commission indicating that the documents had been missing from his outfit therefore another one should be issued to him (Dzomeku).

ASP Agyeman said when the complainant was about to send the letter to the Lands Commission, a friend alerted him that in the June 25, 2011 edition of the Daily Graphic it published that, the land title certificate had been used to secure a loan facility at HFC bank by an unknown person.

He said the applicant had defaulted in paying the loan therefore, the bank had instituted a civil action against the defaulter at the Accra Fast Track High Court and attached the property for sale. The prosecutor said the complainant quickly reported the matter to the Police which lead to the arrest of Dzovor, Bayaro and Fosu. During interrogation, Dzovor who had worked with the Cocoa Affairs Court for the past 15 years as a caretaker, told the police that he together with Bayaro and three other people, all deceased, three years ago, sold the complainant's Land Title Certificate to Fosu for GH?2,500 in 2007 to enable him secure a loan at HFC bank. ASP Agyeman said Bayaro and Fosu had declined to tell the Police the source of the stolen land title certificate. He said Fosu used the document to secure a loan of GH?100,000 at HFC Bank in 2007 but defaulted in payment. The case was adjourned to Friday, July 22.