Four persons, including three officials of the Electoral Commission, have been arrested and charged with four counts of stealing and dishonestly receiving for the theft of Biometric Voter Registration kits. They have been remanded into Police custody.
The accused individuals are Philip Lartey, a labourer; Benyamin Fianyi, a security officer; Joseph Blankson Adumadzie, a database administrator at the Electoral Commission; and Clifford Yeboah, a student. The three Electoral Commission staff members have been charged with counts of stealing and conspiracy to steal, while the student, Clifford Yeboah, has been charged with a count of dishonestly receiving.
According to the facts of the case, five Dell laptops, part of the Biometric Voter Registration kits, were reported stolen. Further investigation led to the recovery of three HP laptops from Clifford Yeboah, the student, and one HP printer and three biometric verification device printer chargers from Benyamin Fianyi, the security officer.
The incident occurred when officials of the commission entrusted casual workers and security officers to move materials from their old head office at Ridge to a warehouse at Spintex. The theft was allegedly initiated by Benyamin Fianyi and Joseph Blankson Adumadzie, who conspired to steal HP printers.
Joseph Blankson Adumadzie is accused of stealing an HP printer and handing it over to another individual, who then stole three Biometric Verification Device Printer Chargers. Additionally, one HP printer and three HP laptop computers were stolen from the kit boxes, with one laptop kept by one of the accused and the remaining two to be repaired.
All four accused persons have pleaded not guilty to the charges. The case highlights the importance of safeguarding electoral materials and the consequences of theft in the electoral process.
