A sub-chief of Ada named Nene Tetteh Akpleh Ocansey VI is being tried in the Ada District Court for allegedly stealing cassava worth GHC 1,200.00.
Not just Nene but also his brother John Ocansey has been charged with involvement in the crime.
A third person, Edem Quame Afeyedor, who is accused of buying the allegedly stolen cassava, is also charged with identical offenses but has not been in court despite being served when the case was called, according to a news item published by the New Crusading Guide newspaper on June 22, 2023.
The incident occurred in April 2022, according to Chief Inspector Robert Dokpornu, the police prosecutor who is presenting the case. At that time, the complainant, Eric Teye Agbashie, visited his farm close to Nene Tetteh Ocansey VI’s home in the Hwakpo neighborhood. Agbashie was shocked to find that his cassava had been uprooted and replaced with new cassava sticks.
Agbashie immediately reported the event to the Sege District Police, who opened an investigation and faced Nene Ocansey VI, the leader of Ocansekopey. In a confession to the police CID, Ocansey admitted to the act and asked for a peaceful resolution, the report states.
According to the report, he also asked the Ada Divisional Police Commander in Kasseh to mediate. As part of the settlement, Nene Ocansey was instructed to pay the complainant GH1,500.00 for the damage he caused and to refrain from entering the farm ever again. He apologized and begged the complaint for forgiveness.
On April 17, 2023, Agbashie visited his field and saw that John Ocansey, a 45-year-old brother of Nene Ocansey, was once more uprooting cassava from the land, according to Chief Inspector Dokpornu, who testified before the court. He then informed the Sege District Police about the event, and they later discovered the cassava in Nene Ocansey’s hands.
When questioned by authorities, Nene Ocansey acknowledged that his brother John Ocansey was in charge of gathering the stolen cassava.
The two were told to show up at the police station the next day with the seized cassava, but they disobeyed.
Instead, for Gh 200.00, the accused sold the cassava to Edem Quame Afeyedor.
According to the article, the aforementioned details were made public in their cautionary statements, which resulted in the arrest of Edem Quame Afeyedor, the third accused party in the case. Unfortunately, Afeyedor did not show up in court on time.
The presiding judge granted Nene Tetteh Akpleh Ocansey VI and John Ocansey bail in the amount of GH5,000 each, with two sureties each, and ordered them to return to court on July 20, 2023 for further hearings after hearing the prosecution’s case and the attorneys’ arguments.
