Court relieves Akosua Agyapong and accomplice of fraudulent land case

A highlife musician, Akosua Agyapong, and another accused person standing trial for the alleged fraudulent sale of land have been acquitted and discharged by the Accra Circuit Court.

The two accused persons were brought before the court in October 2017 for allegedly defrauding a businessman of GH¢105,000, in a land deal.

The prosecution’s case was that the musician and her accomplice, one Agyemang, popularly known as Killer Boss, sold a parcel of land, which apparently did not belong to them.

But on Wednesday, the court presided over by Priscilla Abena Dapaah Mireku, acquitted and discharged the two.

The Circuit Court held that the prosecution had failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish that the accused persons were guilty.

“There was no evidence before the court which proved that the land documents were forged and based on the evidence before the court from the complainant during the cross-examination, he [the complainant] knew the land belonged to one Dora Amoansi so nothing shows the deal was fraudulent,” the judge said in her ruling.

The court also held that the matter was more of a civil case than a criminal case and therefore urged the complainant to file a civil case again, if he so wished to.

The two were earlier granted bail in the sum of GH¢160,000 with three sureties, after pleading not guilty.

The facts of the case, according to the prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Agnes Boafo, were that the complainant in the case was a car merchant, while Agyemang claimed to be a building contractor.

She explained that in February 2017, the businessman wanted a parcel of land by the roadside to display his cars for sale. As a result, he contacted Akosua Agyapong for assistance.

The musician, the prosecutor said, told the businessman that she had a plot of land for rent, but the businessman wanted an outright sale.

“Later Akosua introduced Agyemang to the businessman as her brother who had a plot of land opposite the West Hills Mall for sale. The businessman after inspecting the land showed interest,’’ she said.

ASP Boafo added that the highlife musician assured the businessman that the land was genuine and Agyemang was the rightful owner.

“They then took the businessman to the Lands Commission, went into one of the offices and came out with someone who confirmed that the land indeed belonged to Agyemang, and upon this, the businessman became convinced,’’ ASP Boafo said.

The businessman then paid GH¢105,000 for the land and later gave a Toyota RAV 4 vehicle valued at GH¢100,000 to Agyemang for another plot of land.

But when the businessman went to work on the land, another person came to claim ownership of the land with the original documents.

Following the turn of events, the businessman reported the matter to the police leading to the arrest of the musician and her accomplice.

Agyemang, however, released the vehicle to the police.