Court frees chief over forgery

A Koforidua High Court presided over by Justice Henry Kwofie, has acquitted and discharged Nana Anku Dododza Didieyie, chief of Abomaserefo in the Kwahu-Afram Plains North district of charges including forgery.

He was alleged to have forged colonial documents to claim ownership of the Abomaserefo lands.

The Court acquitted him on all the four counts of offences such forgery, possessing forged documents, uttering forged documents and deceiving a public officer contrary to sections 159,166 169 and 251 respectively of the criminal offences act 1960(Act 29).

Prosecuting, Nana Gyankuma-Sakyi told the court that the grandfather of Nana Anku Dododza Didieyie, known as Kwaku Didieyie was brought from the north and was later assimilated into the Asiedu Boafo Bretuo family and made overseer of the Abomasarefo village.

In 1990, being a descendant of Kwaku Didieyie, he was installed as the Odikro of Abomasarefo by an agreement signed between the Kwahu-Brukruwahene and the accused when the position became vacant.

According to the prosecution a year after, the accused petitioned the Kwahu Traditional Council to claim the Abomasarefo land from the Bukruwah stool after finding some colonial documents indicating that his great grandfather Kwaku Didieye bought the land and therefore owned the entire Abomaserefo land which constituted about Two thirds of the entire Afram Plains land space.

A committee of enquiry was set up by the Traditional Council and based on that the committee’s report indicated that the Abomaserefo land belonged to Kwaku Didieyie, but the traditional council was not happy about the report. 

The judge in his judgement said “I have come to the conclusion that the prosecution has failed to discharge the burden placed on it by section 13 of the evidence Act 1975 to prove the guilt of the accused person beyond reasonable doubt”.

Source: GNA