Electoral Commission staff and student remanded over alleged theft of biometric devices and laptops

Three employees of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, along with a student, have been remanded for two weeks by the Circuit Court at Dansoman for their alleged involvement in the theft of laptops and biometric devices belonging to the commission.

The three employees—Philip Tetteh, a laborer; Benjamin Fienyi, a security guard; and Joseph Blackson Adamadze, a database administrator—have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to steal and theft. Meanwhile, the student, Clifford Yeboah, aged 23, has denied the charge of dishonestly receiving the stolen items. The case has been adjourned to April 29.

The remand follows a request by the prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Christopher Wonder, for time to conclude their investigations. They argued that granting bail to the accused could potentially interfere with ongoing efforts to retrieve the remaining Dell laptops containing critical data.

According to Chief Inspector Wonder, the incident unfolded on March 9, 2024, when officials from the Electoral Commission's ICT Department were conducting routine maintenance on the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) Kits. During the maintenance, it was discovered that five Dell laptop computers were missing from their respective kit boxes.

Subsequently, a complaint was filed with the National Security, leading to the arrest of all accused individuals during the course of the investigation.

During the investigation, three HP laptop computers and one HP printer were recovered from Clifford Yeboah, while Benjamin Fienyi was found in possession of one HP printer and three Biometric Verification Device (BVD) printer chargers. These items were confirmed to be the property of the Electoral Commission of Ghana.

Further findings revealed that in March 2023, the commission had engaged casual workers and security personnel to relocate some materials from its old warehouse at Ridge to a new one at Spintex. It was alleged that Benjamin and Joseph planned to steal some printers during this relocation process.

Joseph is alleged to have stolen an HP printer from one of the kit boxes and passed it to Benjamin, who, in turn, stole three BVD printer chargers. Meanwhile, Philip Tetteh allegedly pilfered three HP laptop computers from the kit boxes, entrusting Clifford Yeboah with their safekeeping and repair.

The accused individuals have been charged and arraigned before the court, with investigations ongoing.