A 72 year old unemployed man, Oscar Zowonu, was arraigned before the Dansoman Circuit Court, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of defrauding a banker and a businessman of GH¢1,050,000.
The alleged fraud involved the sale of a plot of land that Zowonu had previously lost in a civil court judgment.
Presided over by Her Honour Basilia Adjei-Tawiah, the court granted Zowonu bail in the amount of GH¢100,000, to be backed by three sureties.
Two of these must be justified, while the third must be a civil servant earning no less than GH¢5,000 per month.
In addition, the court ordered that Zowonu deposit all travel documents—including his Ghanaian passport—with the registry and mandated that he report biweekly to the investigating officer.
Chief Inspector Christopher Wonder, prosecuting the case, strongly opposed the bail application, characterising Zowonu as a flight risk.
He told the court that the Adenta Circuit Court had previously issued a bench warrant for Zowonu’s arrest after he failed to comply with orders in a prior criminal matter.
Multiple attempts to apprehend him were reportedly unsuccessful.
The prosecutor warned that releasing Zowonu could allow him to evade justice or perpetrate further wrongdoing.
In contrast, Zowonu’s defense counsel appealed for leniency on grounds of his advanced age and argued that he did not pose a flight risk.
Background of case
According to the Prosecutor Chief Inspector Christopher Wonder, the complainants Eunice Boateng and Baffour Asamoah are banker and businessman respectively whereas accused Oscar Zowonu is unemployed.
The Court heard that, during the year 2020, the accused person was arrested by the Kwabenya Police for defrauding one Silace Sonfack in the sum of one hundred and seventy five thousand US Dollars (US$175,000).
He was subsequently arraigned before Adenta Circuit Court and in the course of the trial he gave his plot of land lying at Kwabenya to the victim, Silace Sonfack to defray part of the amount he defrauded him of. The victim, Silace Sonfack and his lawyers duly attached the said property and won judgment in a civil suit against the accused person.
In the year 2024, the accused person after sensing the danger of losing the property, nicodemusly sold the attached property to the complainants in this case at the price of one million, two hundred and seven thousand, five hundred Ghana Cedis (Gh¢1,207,500) out of which cash of one million and fifty thousand Ghana Cedis (Gh¢1,050,000) was paid to the accused person.
The accused person on receipt on the said amount of money went into hiding and also evaded criminal trial at Adenta Circuit Court leading to the Court issuing a warrant for his arrest.
A complaint was lodged to the Greater Accra Regional Police command and the accused person was arrested.
During the interrogation of the accused person, he mentioned other persons as his accomplices and efforts are underway to arrest them for investigations.
