Photographer in court for falsifying signatures of his two younger brothers to claim ownership of their land

A 67-year-old photographer from Ho-Bankoe, Dickson Deti, has been arraigned before the Ho District Court 2 for allegedly forging the signatures of his two younger brothers to claim ownership of family land.

The accused is standing trial after prosecutors alleged that he fraudulently prepared ownership documents for a parcel of land inherited from their late father.

Presenting the case, Sergeant Michael Kadey told the court, presided over by Akosua Agyare-Amoanpong Yao, that the accused and his siblings jointly inherited the property, on which they had each built homes and lived for several years.

According to the prosecution, in 2002, Dickson Deti allegedly prepared an indenture naming himself as the sole owner of the land and inserted the signatures of his two brothers as witnesses without their knowledge or consent.

The prosecution said the alleged forgery only came to light years later when the brothers discovered the document and confronted the accused. However, he reportedly maintained that they had personally signed the indenture.

Unsatisfied with the explanation, the brothers lodged a complaint with the police. The disputed document was subsequently submitted to a forensic laboratory for examination.

The forensic analysis, the court heard, established that the signatures appearing on the indenture did not belong to the accused's brothers.

Following the investigations, the photographer was charged with the alleged offence.

The court granted him bail in the sum of GH¢10,000 with two sureties after defence counsel, Jemima Addo, argued that the accused is a father of five with a fixed place of residence.

The case has been adjourned to July 30 for the continuation of hearing.