How a single act of kindness towards a stranger got a 63-year-old man jailed 15 years

A 63-year-old former prisoner has recounted how he was wrongly and painfully sentenced to 15 years in prison for rape, all because of what he believed was a kind act toward a stranger.

The ex-convict shared how, on one fateful evening while driving his private car from Accra to the Central Region, he encountered a young lady by the roadside who beckoned him for a lift to her destination.

According to him, he was, at the time, an elder in the Christ Apostolic Church and initially mistook the lady for one of the ushers in his church. Based on that assumption, he stopped to pick her up.

Shortly after she got into the car, he realized she was not the church member he had assumed she was. He then stopped the vehicle and asked her to alight. However, the lady pleaded with him, saying she had been stranded for a long time without finding a vehicle. She begged to stay until he reached his destination, after which she would continue her journey with another vehicle.

He narrated in an interview with Angel TV that when they got to his destination, he stopped for the lady to alight. However, about two hours later, he heard a knock on his door. Upon opening it, a young boy informed him that someone was looking for him. When he stepped outside, he found the same lady to whom he had earlier given a lift. She pleaded with him for a place to spend the night, explaining that she had still not found transportation.

He explained that, out of compassion, he offered her a place to sleep in his four-bedroom house.

“Out of compassion, I gave her a place to lay her head for the night. In the morning, she came to inform me herself that she was ready to leave and continue her journey. I made her sit in my car and dropped her off at a location where she could get a commercial vehicle. That was on a Saturday. The next day, I was informed by the police that I was needed at the station. Since I usually repaired their broken fridges, I thought they needed my services. But to my shock, when I arrived, the police told me that the lady had reported that I had raped her,” he narrated.

The ex-convict added that he was immediately arrested and transferred from Ajumako to Cape Coast. He said that due to his inability to secure a good lawyer, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He also revealed that he spent one and a half years on remand before being transferred to the Maximum Security Prison.

He further explained that he later decided to appeal the case and made arrangements to be moved to Nsawam. However, after serving three and a half years there, he found the conditions tough and requested to be sent back to Ajumako, where he completed his jail term.

KA