Thief escapes prison labour; CCF pays fine

A gold machine thief, Haruna Akuruga has been fortunate after the intervention of Crime Check Foundation (CCF), which has saved him from hard prison labour.

The 45-year-old man was jailed for stealing a gold machine at the site of an illegal mine.

“I stole the machine and also rented it out to another colleague for Ghc 90,” he told crimecheckghana.org.

Akuruga however said he engaged in the act over alleged excessive demands of money and material items by her ‘sidechick’.

“Sometimes she will take expensive clothes on credit without telling me and bill me,” he said regrettably.

The father of four had traveled from the North to the Eastern Region to engage in illegal mining to make the life of his family better.

“I got the girlfriend while I worked at the ‘galamsey’ site. I used to steal some of the gold. Ten karate is the heaviest I have stolen,” he confessed.

Akuruga was dragged to court by the owner though he pleaded for forgiveness.

The court fined him Ghc 2,400, which he defaulted. The court then proceeded to sentence him to 24 months imprisonment at the Koforidua Local Prison.

Akuruga was later transferred to the Awutu Camp Prison.

Crime Check Foundation (CCF) met him at the open camp prison during its routine visits to prisons across the country.

After interacting with him, CCF paid his fine for his release with support from a UK-based donor, Adjoa Adewura.

Akuruga is a free man now and has promised to turn a new leaf to contribute meaningfully to society.

Engagement with the ex-convict is part of CCF’s ‘Time With The Prisoner’ flagship programme aired on Television to caution the general public on the consequences of crime.