Food vendor jailed over food items theft gets released from prison for the 2nd time

Recidivist, Bawa Sumaila has again been freed from prison after Crime Check Foundation’s (CCF) intervention.

It is the second time CCF has gone to the aid of Sumaila who has not been in the good books of the law.

The young man, a food vendor was jailed for 7 years to serve at the Ho Central Prison in the Volta Region and later, transferred to the Awutu Camp Prison, in the Central Region.

According to him, the Adidome Circuit Court convicted him of stealing when he appeared before the court.

He said he was apprehended for patronizing stolen food items to run his food business.

He was charged with abetment of crime and stealing. Without a lawyer to defend him in court, he was slapped with 12 penalty units amounting to Ghc 1,200.

Sumaila could not afford the fine and had to serve a seven-year prison term with hard labour from 2011 to 2017. Crime Check Foundation visited him in prison when he was almost done serving. After completing his prison term, he went back to continue his food business yet to fall into another trouble.

Three years later, the ex-convict found himself in hot waters again over indebtedness when some food items he took on credit got burnt into ashes.

“I took some bags of rice, gallons of cooking oil, and some other items and kept it in my wooden structure which was razed down by an inferno,” he told crimecheckgahan.org.

Bawa Sumaila said the items totaled Ghc 3,400, an amount he said he could not pay upfront because he had run into a loss.

 “I pleaded with the lender to give me some time but she refused and reported me to the police for my arrest,” he recounted.

Sumaila said he was arraigned before the Weija Circuit Court and was sentenced to 12 months.

His twelve-month term has ended and to help him better re-integrate into society, Crime Check Foundation supported the young man with Ghc 4,848 to start his business.

Sumaila said the support would help him become established and deter him from getting into further trouble.

Thanks to donors; UK-based Cecilia Serwaa, Collins Appiah, Ghana, Christopher, Italy, and US-based Golda.

The gesture was done under the CCF’s Ex-Convicts Re-integration Project, which had the late Black Stars player as the largest donor.