Damfa Assemblyman Charles Kotei has been brought before the Accra Circuit Court on charges of selling Electricity Company of Ghana metres. Foster Moore was also on trial with him.
They “had been selling ECG metres and tampering with the distribution system for the ECG supplier around Damfa, Adenta, and East Legon and also assisting buyers with installation,” as the prosecution put it. Both of them have pleaded not guilty.
In a previous hearing almost two weeks ago, the same court remanded Moore into police custody. Moore and Kotei were charged after the prosecution changed the facts and charges on Tuesday, April 11.
They were each granted a bail of GH10,000 with a guarantee by the court presided over by Samuel Bright Acquah. The court ruled that the guarantors must be Ghanaian citizens or close relatives. The next scheduled court date is Thursday, April 27, 2023.
Mr. Paul Asibi Abariga, who is the general manager in charge of prosecutions, said that the accuser is a former employee of ECG called Kwame Agyemang Budu.
According to Mr. Abariga, Moore lives in Osu, whereas Kotei represents the Damfa district in the Accra Assembly. According to the prosecution, the complainant was the owner of a store in East Legon that was under construction.
On March 1, 2023, Moore went to the store and told Simon Long-Yin, the complainant’s caretaker, that he was selling ECG meters.
The document states that Moore’s caretaker called the complainant, gave them Moore’s contact information, and instructed them to bring Moore an ECG metre. According to the prosecution, Moore’s acts were reported to the ECG Legal and Prosecution Unit by the complainant. Moore allegedly attempted to sell the complainant the ECG meter bearing serial number 141186697 before he was captured.
It said that when the suspect, Moore, was being questioned, he took the police to Damfa and named Kotei as the person who sold the ECG metre for GH400.
Moore allegedly began sending the complainant threatening messages on WhatsApp on March 20, 2023, saying that he will deal with him and that “tampering and selling ECG metres that make clients pay less is his business and if he does not know, he sells pistols so the complainant should be careful with him.”
