A mason entrusted with grazing duties has been handed a four-year jail term after admitting he sold off nearly an entire herd he was hired to manage. The Amasaman Circuit Court ruled that 46-year-old Akwasi Obeng must serve 48 months in prison with hard labour for stealing 17 cattle worth GHC228,000.00.
Prosecutors said Obeng had been caring for 21 cattle but secretly sold most of them. He told the court he took the animals because his employer had not paid an agreed GHC700.00 salary and that he was struggling to support his two children.
The presiding judge, Mrs Akosua Anokyewaa Adjepong, added a 500-penalty-unit fine amounting to GHC6,000.00. Failure to pay will result in an extra 12 months behind bars. The court found that Obeng had no credible legal defence and recorded a guilty plea, GNA reported.
While the judge acknowledged his remorse, the full recovery of the cattle, and his status as a first-time offender, the court also stressed that cattle theft had become common in the area and said the punishment should caution others.
Police Chief Inspector Salifu Nashiru told the court that the complainant, Mr Evans Bortsie, a herdsman at Harekreshena and resident of Medie in Accra, hired Obeng in August 2025. He said that on October 30, Obeng led 21 cattle out to graze and never returned. Four were later recovered after the case was reported to the Adjen Kotoku Police.
Investigators found that Obeng had sold the remaining 17 animals to a witness for GHC96,000.00. He had already collected GHC30,000.00 and was expecting the rest of the money on November 12, 2025. The buyer, upon learning the cattle were stolen, alerted officers and lured Obeng by inviting him to collect the balance.
Police arrested him on arrival. In his caution statement, he admitted the offence and explained that part of the money had gone toward renting an apartment. He was later charged and put before the court.
