Moses Tetteh, the perpetrator of the Agormanya Market cable theft case, has been sentenced to jail for causing damage and illegally entering public property.
The Odumase Krobo District Court judge, H/H Kwesi Apietse delivered the verdict on Thursday, 17 October 2024. Tetteh pleaded guilty to all three charges, including stealing, which were brought against him.
Legal Framework for Conviction
According to Ghana’s Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), in section 152 defines unlawful entry as entering into a building with the intent to commit a crime as a second-degree felony. Section 153 further clarifies that unlawful entry occurs when an individual enters a building without a lawful right or consent.
Additionally, section 125(1) defines stealing as the dishonest appropriation of property by a person who is not the owner. Also, section 124(1) clarifies stealing as a second felony.
Case Precedence
In the case of the Republic versus Sulley and 5 others, decided by H/W Simon Kofi Bediako ESQ. at a District Court in Walewale on Monday, 6 February 2023, established that to prove stealing, the prosecution must demonstrate that the accused is not the owner of the stolen property, that he appropriated the property and that the appropriation was dishonest.
Arrest and Evidence
Tetteh was apprehended on Tuesday, 15 October 2024, after police officials from Odumase Command discovered him in possession of coils of cables stolen from the newly constructed Agormanya Market ultra-modern stores. This evidence, along with his confession, led to his conviction.
He will serve his jail term at Akuse Prison, beginning immediately after receiving a COVID-19 dosage from the Health Department of the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly.
This sentence, according to the Municipal Chief of the area, Hon. Simon Kweku Tetteh marks the second conviction related to the Agormanya Market project.