After telling the Ada District Magistrate Court on January 21 this year that all seven of them pleaded not guilty to unlawfully causing damage to the property of Clement Ackwerh, the Complainant at Hwakpo, the supposed Hwakpo chief, with his six other accomplices and lawyer, finally admitted his guilt at Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) where the Court referred the matter to for a Civil settlement.
At the East Ada District Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) centre on March 16, 2022, the Complainant was permitted to tender in his video and audio evidence that captured the criminal demolition of his structure by the seven suspects led by the supposed chief of Hwakpo, Isaac Buertey Pumplampu.
After playing both electronic materials to them and before their counsel, Kwami Boni, the suspects admitted they were the characters captured in both materials.
Finally admitting guilt and with their tails soberly rolled down, the suspects, through their lawyer, begged the complainant, through the ADR, to temper justice with mercy by reducing the cost of damage by GH¢8,900 but the ADR, which had been directed by the court to refer the determination of the matter back to it, could not grant the plea of the suspects.
Appearing before Her Worship Paulina Kwakyewa of the Ada Magistrate Court, on May 5, Kwami Boni, on his feet, prayed the court to adjourn to July 26, 2022, when his clients would have been able to raise enough money to pay the cost of the damage to the property of Clement Ackwerh.
Albeit, the lawyer did not mention the cost his clients had agreed to pay the Complainant in the open court, Clement Ackwerh expressed his gratitude to the court and acknowledged the adjourned date when he said he would be in court with his family to happily collect nothing less than GH¢8,900 being the cost of the damage as valued and captured in the charge sheet before the court.
Brief Background
In 2021, the supposed chief and his accomplices were nabbed by the former Sege District Police Commander, DSP George Aboagye, for allegedly destroying a building under construction, which was the property of the complainant, at Hwakpo.
The adjudication of the criminal case began at the Sege District Court, however, it was later referred to the Ada Magistrate Court, where after several adjournments, also referred the criminal case to the ADR on March 16, 2022.
The court advised that the determination of the matter at the ADR be referred to it on May 5, this year.
Though the complainant had prayed the court to permit him to tender in video evidence of the illegal demolition carried out by the suspects, the Magistrate Judge, in her directive, said the complainant could show that at the ADR to prove his case for its determination.
That was after the suspects had told the court that they were not guilty of the charge of unlawful damage when the fact of the matter and charge was read to them in court by the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Mamfo.