Palm Wine Tapper Steals Cocoa

A palm-wine tapper, Prosper Ashigbe, has been jailed for two years by the Kade District magistrate's court for stealing  a cocoa sack and 105 kilogramme of cocoa valued at GH¢171.36.

Ashigbe pleaded guilty to three counts of unlawful entry, stealing a cocoa sack valued at five Ghana Cedis, the property of George Ayisi and also stealing 105 kilos of cocoa beans, property of Joshua Nkrumah.

Presenting the case against the accused at the court, presided over by Mr Kwaku Baah Frimpong, Police Inspector Francis Cobbina said the accused lived at Akyem Pramkese while his victims were farmers at Twumwusu.

On September 11, this year, Joshua Nkrumah harvested his cocoa and after fermentation spread out the beans to dry on his farm and took shelter where he kept watch over the beans.

The prosecution said, on noticing that the cocoa beans had started drying, Ashigbe started monitoring the movement of Nkrumah and on September 26, this year at about 1600 hours when Nkrumah left the farm, the accused went into the room of one Mr. Ayisi to steal the cocoa sack before going to the farm to load the beans.

Inspector Cobbina said Ashigbe carried the load to the roadside to board a vehicle but the driver of the vehicle became suspicious and refused to pick him and instead reported him to the people of Twumwusu.

He said the people arrested him and took him  with the load to the Pramkese Police station.

Upon interrogation, Ashigbe admitted stealing the cocoa.