How a Community elder was jailed over stolen 14 bunches of plantain in his possession

A 43-year-old farmer cum trader, Nana Opoku has been jailed for having in his possession fourteen bunches of stolen plantain at Ajumako-Enyam-Essiam near Mankessim in the Central Region.

Mr. Opoku who said he is a community elder insists he was innocent of stealing the food item.

He alleged that it was a plot by the Assemblyman of the area, Ekow Kwabena who sought to mar his reputation due to a dispute between them over his plot of land.

He said that his predicament began when he helped another farmer, Okoto, whom he shared a farm boundary with to carry his load of fourteen bunches of plantain home.

Mr. Opoku said he was impelled to help his farming neighbor and abandoned his items on his farm considering the excuse his neighbor gave.

“Okoto told me he had been contracted by someone to harvest palm fruits so he did not want to go home and return. We agreed that I would sell the food item and give him his money the next day,” he recounted.

He said the following day when he had wanted to sell the food item to a customer, a mob of youth in the town led by the Assemblyman attacked him.

This was after the same youth group approached him over the owner of the plantain in his possession because he said there were complaints of plantain theft in the town.

“Initially they said they wanted to go to my farm to confirm if I had cultivated plantain. But the assemblyman was aware I have a plantain farm where he has even harvested some before. Unfortunately, it rained so we could not go.”

“I thought the issue had gone to rest until they pounced on me in my house and stole my purse and mobile phone,” he claimed.

Mr. Opoku alleged that Kwabena was behind the incitement against him because they disputed over a plot of land he claimed belonged to him but the ‘honourable’ man was using his influence to lay claim to the land illegally.

He said the Assemblyman reported him to the police leading to his arrest.

Mr. Opoku asserted that Kwabena connived with Okoto to deny giving him any plantain to sell for him during investigations.

The ‘innocent’ man said he was immediately arraigned before Court and jailed for seven months after failing to pay a Seven Hundred and Twenty Ghana cedis fine.

Crime Check Foundation (CCF), under its Petty Offenders project, met Mr. Opoku at the Ankaful Main Camp Prison where he has served three months of his sentence.

With support from a US-based donor, Mispa Family, the Foundation paid his fine for his release.

Petty Offenders project

CCF holds government accountable for improvement in justice delivery in Ghana. As part of its advocacy, it is calling for the immediate passage of the Non-Custodial Sentencing bill into law, which has been on the shelves of Parliament for years.

Especially in the area of reformation and rehabilitation, it campaigns for improved prison conditions.

Through the Petty Offenders project, the Foundation has been instrumental in decongesting the prisons as thousands of minor offenders who could have been serving non-custodial sentences are freed through its fine-paying scheme.