Court remands social worker for robbery

An Accra Circuit Court has remanded one Zakaria Debe, a Social worker, into police custody for allegedly causing unlawful damage and robbery.

The accused person pleaded not guilty and would reappear on May 3.

Chief Superintendent of Police Duuti Tuaraka told the court that the complainant in the case was a legal practitioner and the complainant and the accused person had known each other for the past three years.

He said the complainant also happened to be the Director of the accused person’s NGO, Redeeming Orphan’s Foundation and had assisted Dede on a number of instances including donating to the NGO and personal assistance.

The Prosecution said on April 8, the accused went to the complainant in his house and requested a financial assistance of GH¢700.00 from him to pay his rent but the complainant told him, he could afford only GH¢ 300.00, which he gave to him and he went away.

He said on April 12, at about 1830 hours the accused visited the complainant’s house again and saw the complainant’s house help washing clothes.

He said the house help, who was a victim in the case, allowed the accused into the compound because she had seen him come to the house to talk to the complainant.

“The accused told the victim that her employer had asked him to come and make some estimates in the house,” he added.

Supt Duuti said the victim told the accused that her employer was not at home and the accused stood aside and started counting cement blocks packed on the compound.

He said the victim sent the first batch of the clothes to the drying line behind the house and whilst she was drying the things, the accused suddenly rushed on her, held her neck tightly and hit her head against the wall several times until she became unconscious.

The prosecution said the accused took a pick axe on the compound broke into both the sitting and bedrooms of the complainant and stole two Apple Ipads but when he scaled over the wall of the house into an adjoining house he was spotted by someone in the house.

An alarm was raised and the accused was arrested. In the process of arrest he dropped the two ipads he had stolen at the scene.

In his investigation caution statement the accused admitted the offences and led police to the scene and demonstrated how he had attacked the victim and robbed the complainant.

Source: GNA