The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has dragged the NPP parliamentary candidate for Hemang Lower Denkyira constituency, Bright Wereko Brobbey and 17 others to court for allegedly stealing fertilizers belonging to the board.
Wereko Brobbey is alleged to have distributed the fertilizers to delegates in his constituency during the recently held parliamentary primaries of the NPP.
Joy News’ Central Regional correspondent Richard Kwadwo Nyarko who was in court today mentioned COCOBOD regional manager, Eugene Gyamfi as the complainant.
According to the complainant the fertilizers were meant for distribution to cocoa farmers but were given freely to NPP polling station executives to entice them to vote for the parliamentary candidate.
The quantity of fertilizer bags involved is 1201 and valued at 210, 287 Ghana cedis.
The beneficiaries, according to the facts presented to the court, do not own cocoa farms to be entitled to free cocoa distribution. Even those with farms have smaller farm size that do not warrant the quantity of fertilizers they received.
The distributors, according to the prosecutor, were arrested and the bags of fertilizers retrieved from them.
Bright Wereko Brobbey has therfore been charged with aiding and abetment of crime. Others were charged with stealing and dishonestly receiving the cocoa fertilizers.
The accused pleaded not guilty and were granted bail to reappear in August 12, 2015.
Mr. Wereko Brobbey who is a community development specialist is believed to have gotten the fertilizers from the second accused Felix Kwame Quainoo, a district cocoa officer.
Meanwhile, counsel for the defendants Michael Ato Dadzie told the media he will not read politics into the case but was confident his clients are innocent and “at the appropriate time we will prove the innocence of the accused persons.”
