Court acquits Pastor Obeng Bekoe of fraud

An Accra Circuit Court on Friday acquitted and discharged Pastor Emmanuel Obeng Bekoe of a GH¢115,000.00 fraud charge brought against him over the sale of fertiliser.

Pastor Bekoe, with Baba Charles Yides, a caretaker, was charged with conspiracy to commit crime and defrauding by false pretence; but he was found innocent after the trial.

However, Yides failed to appear before the Court and thus a bench warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Their accomplice, identified only as Antwi, is also on the run.

The Court, presided over by Mrs Ruby Naa Aryeetey, a High Court Judge sitting as an additional Circuit Court Judge, said the Prosecution failed to call their material witnesses to prove their case.

The Prosecution said the complainants, both residents of Techiman, were Madam Afia Pokua, a business woman; and Mr Razak Bawa, a dealer in Agro products.

Towards the end of February 2013, the complainants were informed that Pastor Bekoe had a quantity of fertiliser in stock for sale in Accra.

When they contacted him, he confirmed that he had more than 5,000 bags of the fertiliser and convinced them to travel to Accra, where they met him at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

Pastor Bekoe then took them to a place along the Spintex Road, where he

called Antwi, and informed him that he was coming with the buyers.

They then boarded a taxi to Antwi’s house at Dextraco Estate, where his wife told the complainant that her husband had gone to work.

The Court heard that the following day the complainants were taken to a shop around Community 18 by Pastor Bekoe and Antwi’s wife where a heap of bags of fertilizer were shown to them.

The Prosecution said at the said shop, Yides told the complainants that the shop belonged to him; but he had rented it out to Pastor Bekoe to deposit the wares.

On March 1, 2013, Antwi in the company of two others, who are also now at large, brought two articulated trucks alleged to have been loaded with 3,000 bags of fertilizer and they demanded payment.

The complainants, therefore, paid Antwi GH¢115,000.00 as payment for the goods and the transportation cost of the product.

The Prosecution said the complainants were asked to go to Techiman as the trucks of fertiliser followed them.

However, the goods failed to arrive as promised, thus, the complainants became alarmed and returned to Accra to report the case to the Police.

Pastor Bekoe and Yides were arrested but they denied the offence.

They were, however, charged after the investigations and granted police enquiry bail.

Source: GNA