By Issah Olegor
A 24-year-old woman, Mawuena Tamakloe, has been sentenced to 12 months jail term by an Accra Circuit Court after confessing to stealing a 50-inch Hisense UHD 4K television set from a church located inside the Teshie Military Barracks in Accra.
Tamakloe pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful entry and theft, with the court presided over by Susan Edufful handing down a one-year sentence for each charge.
The sentences are to run concurrently.
The stolen television, valued at GH¢8,900, belonged to the Church of Pentecost’s Whistler Barracks Worship Centre.
According to the prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Clemence Takyi, the theft occurred on the morning of May 15, 2025. Church elder and complainant, Ebenezer Oppong Aboagye, reported the matter to the authorities after military officers spotted Tamakloe leaving the premises carrying a TV box clearly marked with the church’s name.
When questioned, Tamakloe failed to provide a convincing explanation, prompting the officers to alert the Military Police.
Under interrogation, she admitted to entering the church office and stealing the television.
A follow-up inspection revealed that the inner wooden door to the head pastor’s office had been damaged in the process.
However, an earlier charge of causing unlawful damage was later dropped at the request of the prosecution, based on her explanation.
What appeared to be a routine arrest took a dramatic turn when Tamakloe briefly escaped custody.
A court-mandated pregnancy test had returned negative, and during her return to the police station, she fled across a busy road and boarded a commercial vehicle, which was then trailed by a taxi.
Her escape was cut short thanks to the intervention of a biker who pursued and helped apprehend her.
During sentencing, the judge acknowledged Tamakloe’s status as a first-time offender and her plea for leniency but emphasized the seriousness of the offence and the need for deterrence.
The judge also advised her to reflect and reform during her incarceration.
