22-year-old Kweku James from Nyinahini Agogoso in the Ashanti Region of Ghana has been jailed for eighteen months for stealing cassava.
He said he stole the cassava on four occasions until his arrest.
According to James, he did not cultivate a farm because he did not have access to farmland.
He claimed there is no job in the town and so he had to engage in stealing cassava to enable him to feed himself but it eventually became a habit.
The young man said he smoked weed and cigarettes to enable him to work hard.
“I steal the cassava in sacks and give it to a woman to sell. I usually made Fifty Ghana cedis out of it. I stole because of hunger,” he said.
Narrating how he was nabbed, he said on that fateful day, he was uprooting the cassava tubers when he saw the daughter of the owner of the farm passing by. James said he did not know she had been sent to spy on him so he went ahead to fill his sack as usual.
The lady, he said ambushed him so immediately he carried the cassava, she came out of hiding to confront him. James said he tried to escape but hooting from the lady attracted the attention of other residents who helped her to apprehend him.
He said he was not spared beatings, which nearly took his life, and was later sent to the Police Station.
He said he was arraigned before court and was found guilty.
James said the court fined him Six Hundred Ghana cedis but defaulted in payment landing him in prison.
After serving three months of his term, Crime Check Foundation (CCF) went to his rescue and paid the fine for his release.
US-based CCF donors, only known as Victoria and Felicia contributed to making the gesture possible.