Day: June 20, 2024

The Amasaman Circuit Court has sentenced a 44-year-old medical emergency assistant to three years imprisonment in hard labour for fraud.

Francis Kweku Eshun admitted taking GHC15,000.00 from Mr William Sackey under the pretext of securing him a lawyer and surveyor to facilitate a court case at Amasaman.

He was, however, discharged on a fraudulent breach of trust charge as the Court presided over by Ms Enid Marful-Sau ruled that prosecution’s facts did not support the charge.

The Court directed the prosecution to make available disclosures to the convict on a third charge he pleaded not guilty to.

He was charged for allegedly stealing GHC30,000.00 from the complainant and he is to be brought back to the Court on July 18,2024.

Police Chief Inspector Salifu Nashiru told the Court that Mr Simon Sackey, the complainant, was a health worker living at Ablekuma while Eshun, the convict, a Medical Emergency Assistant, lived at Dansoman.

He said in 2019, one William Sackey who is a brother to the complainant and
brother-in-law to the convict, gave Power of Attorney to the convict to live in his uncompleted house at Kwame Anum, Ashalaja.

Chief Inspector Nashiru said he was tasked to complete projects, which included painting, installation of tiles, installation of electric poles and wiring, gardening amongst others and provided funds for the same but Eshun failed to use the money for the purpose for which it was sent.

The convict was also tasked to pursue a case of defrauding by false pretenses investigated at the Amasaman police station, the Court heard.

The prosecution said Eshun demanded and collected various sums of money to enable him secure the services of a lawyer, pay a surveyor amongst other demands to facilitate the court proceedings which later turned out to be untrue.

Chief Inspector Nashiru said GHC30,000.00 out GHC50,000.00 from the fraud case was refunded to Eshun at the Amasaman Police Station but he squandered the money and could not account for the same during investigations.

A report was made t
o the police which led to his arrest, Police told the Court.

He said during investigation, Eshun told the Police that the total amount he defrauded and stole from the complainant was GHC47,800.00 and not GHC80,000.00 as the complainant alleged.

After investigations, he was charged with the offences and put before court. 

Source: Ghana News Agency

A total of about 8,000 printed passports remain uncollected at the Western Regional Passport Office as at May this year.

Mr Eric Nyarko, the Western Regional Passport Manager, who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency in an interview, said though some applicants visited the Office to collect their passports daily, a lot more had piled up yet to be claimed.

He said: ‘What is contributing to this is that some people feel they only need the passports when they have a connection to travel and once that becomes unsuccessful, they do not feel the need to collect the passports.’

He continued: ‘More often, we call or send notice of collection through SMS and other means possible, but some just feel relaxed to come for their passports due to reasons best known to them.’

Mr Nyarko noted that the Office was making conscious efforts to change that perception through public education and sensitisation programmes to help clear the backlog.

‘We have had numerous media sensitisation campaigns to educate the people abo
ut the need to show up to the Passport Office and collect their passports so that the work will be much easier for all of us,’ he added.

The Regional Passport Manager, therefore, entreated applicants to yet to collect their passports to visit the Office and claim them.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Convention People’s Party has described as ‘shameful’ the death of a woman in her late 60’s who was dumped in a bush at Gomoa Ojobi by the Winneba Trauma and Specialist Hospital.

Chairperson of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) Mrs. Nana Akosua Frimpomaa Sarpong-Kumankumah expressed her displeasure when she visited the scene where the woman was dumped and subsequently died four days after in the open.

The Winneba Trauma and Specialist Hospital was reported to have dumped the woman who was knocked down by a speeding vehicle and was admitted at that Hospital because her relatives failed to show up.

‘It is a big shame to us all and on our national conscience for someone to die in that manner and no excuse can justify that action,’ she noted.

She said it was pathetic that such an incident could happen in a Country touted as a religious nation, stressing that the incident was a reality of the country’s failed institutions.

She also blamed neighbours around who saw the abandoned woman in the open for day
s without attending to her, resulting in her demise.

Madam Kumankumah stated that it was a reminder that measures must be instituted for the country’s institutions to work and uphold the sense of integrity and ethics towards their job.

In her view, swearing by the Bible and Quran over the period had gone through a renaissance, and it was time public officials swore by lesser gods with water to make a commitment to the land and the people.

Madam Kumankumah had earlier visited the palace of Odikro of Gomoa Ojobi, Nana Atta Kakra where the Chief described the incident as ‘very pathetic.’

According to the Chief who is also the Kyedomhene of Gomoa Assin Traditional Area, the woman was not a known person in the community, and he only got to know that the matter had been reported to the police and the social welfare after he got wind of it and sent a delegation to the police station.

‘We are very disappointed in the action by the health facility because every Ghanaian national deserves to be treated with dignit
y and institutions must be able to assist in times of need, and so if the doctor could allow the patient to be dumped without informing traditional leaders, the assembly member or the police, then it is very sad and the doctor must apologise.’

Some community members revealed that the woman appeared demented and was severally spotted loitering in the community prior to the accident.

They added that the Ojobi Police District Command was informed after she was abandoned but failed to heed to their call until her demise.

Sources at the Winneba Trauma Hospital indicated that the Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital demanded GHC9,000 when contacted for the patient to be transported to their facility.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Major General Bismarck Kwasi Onwona, Chief of the Army Staff, has donated GH?50,000.00 as initial funding for the construction of a residence for the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Northern Command.

The donation was seed money to commence the project dubbed: ‘Eagle Nest’, to serve as official residence for the office of the GOC within the Command headquarters.

Brigadier General Frank Nartey Tei, GOC Northern Command, announced the Army Chief’s benevolence at a religious parade in Tamale, where he was officially inducted into office.

The GOC, after the induction ceremony, cut sod for the project in honour of all past GOC’s for their sacrifices in operating outside an official residence.

He said, ‘Prior to my assumption of Command, my predecessor, Major General Mathew Essien, briefed me at length about immeasurable contributions that our development partners have made towards the special project, which was about to take off.’

He said the project would not only provide suitable accommodation for the GOC,
but also serve as a tangible symbol of everyone’s contributions towards enhancing the Command’s reputation.

He said the Eagle Nest would serve as an appropriate residence for future GOCs of the Command, providing a space of convenience and security from which they could lead with strength and vision.

He said, ‘It will also serve as a source of motivation for officers to aspire to higher heights in the service and a physical structure that our development partners can point at as they seek to trace their contribution to building this Command for peace in Northern Ghana.’

Brigadier General Tei expressed gratitude to his predecessor for mobilising the initial resources for the project.

He acknowledged development partners for their unwavering support and contributions, saying their involvement underscored collective commitment to enhancing peace and security in the region.

He solicited public support for the project and explained the broader significance of the project. He encouraged members of the public t
o contribute their part towards making it a reality.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Kabral Blay-Amihere, a veteran journalist has asked the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to live up to its responsibilities by ensuring the practice of ethical and responsible journalism in the Ghanaian media space.

He has also urged the National Media Commission to strengthen its regulatory role to promote sanity and professionalism in journalism practice.

Speaking at a public lecture in Kumasi to mark the 75th anniversary of GJA, Ambassador Blay-Amihere, who is also a former President of GJA, said it was important for the two institutions to restore decency, respect and sanity in the country’s media space.

The anniversary lecture which was jointly organised by the Department of Language and Communication Science of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the GJA, was on the theme, ’75 years of excellence in Journalism; honouring the past and embracing the present’.

Mr Blay-Amihere, pointed out that, capacity building and skills training of journalists GJA must be of para
mount concern to the association to help promote responsible press that would culminate in the sustenance of press freedom in the country.

He said advancement in science and technology had posed greater challenge to journalism practice.

Skills training and development for journalists must be important, adding that, the GJA must help always broaden the horizon of its members.

Mr Blay-Amihere also spoke against attacks on journalists and said infractions and unprovoked attacks on journalists must also be addressed by the association.

He called for an independent GJA and lauded the media for its immense contributions and impact to democratic governance and development in the country.

He said the electoral history of the country, had benefited from the media, which had held successive governments accountable.

Ms Linda Asante Agyei, Vice President for GJA, said the lecture would yield tremendous benefits for the communication students at KNUST and the University as a whole.

She said the GJA Awards for this
year, was currently opened for submission and entry and urged the Communication students to participate.

She said it would help the students pursue excellence in journalism and create more opportunities for them.

Source: Ghana News Agency