25-year-old Farmer Sentenced to Four Imprisonment.
The Nsuta Circuit Court in the Sekyere Central District of the Ashanti Region has sentenced a 25-year-old farmer and a resident of Ejura, James Jagri, alias Sheriff, to four years’ imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to charges of stealing .
The sentence was handed down by the presiding judge, His Lordship Simon Nketiah Gagah on Monday August 31,2026.
According to the prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Owusu Kobi Moses, the complainant, Abdul Rahman Issah, 27, is a resident of Ejura and a maize farmer. The accused, James Jagri, also resides in Ejura and had been engaged by the complainant as a by-day farm labourer to assist with harvesting activities.
The prosecution told the court that during the first week of August 2026, Mr. Issah gave the accused his black, unregistered Apsonic motorbike, valued at GH¢9,800, to purchase food for the workers before they proceeded to the farm.
The accused took advantage of the opportunity and absconded with the motorcycle, bearing chassis number LD3PCJ6J3N1704671, riding it to Nyinatokrom, a village near Agogo.
Following the incident, the complainant circulated the description of the motorcycle and information about the accused among communities in and around Ejura in an effort to locate him.
On August 29, 2026, witnesses in the case identified as Neindon Ernest, Raphel Kofi, Neyman and others apprehended the accused with the stolen motorcycle at Besoro near Kumawu and handed him over to the Kumawu Police.
Due to jurisdictional considerations, the accused and the recovered motorcycle were subsequently transferred to the Regional Criminal Investigations Department (RCID), Ashanti Region.
The complainant was contacted by telephone and travelled from Ejura to the RCID, where he produced the motorcycle’s customs documents. The chassis number on the motorcycle was found to correspond with the number indicated on the customs documentation, thereby supporting his claim of ownership.
In his caution statement to the police, the accused claimed that he had no intention of stealing the motorcycle. He explained that he had taken the motorcycle to visit his sick brother at Nyinatokrom, near Agogo.
However, while returning to Ejura on August 29, 2026, he was apprehended by the witnesses and subsequently handed over to the police.
In delivering the sentence, the court described the accused’s conduct as a serious offence, particularly because he stole a motorcycle entrusted to him by his employer.
The court stressed that such conduct could not be entertained and said the sentence was intended to serve as a deterrent to would-be offenders.
The court subsequently ordered the prosecution to release the recovered motorcycle to its rightful owner, Abdul Rahman
