Kwesi Ackon Taxi driver could have been liable for stealing by keeping the GHC8400

A video has surfaced on social media of a man flanged by several weeping women, thanking him greatly for his Godly act of honesty and integrity.

It is clear from the women's demeanor that they could not even find a better way to thank him enough.

Later, it emerged that the young man flanged by the women is a taxi driver by the name of Kwesi Ackon, who picked up a Teshie bound Malata market woman on Easter Saturday at around 8: pm after striking a deal of 40 Ghana cedis fares.

According to the narration, upon getting the woman to her destination and the taxi driver finally getting to his home, he found a fish stenched dirty old cloth tied over something while checking through his car which he realized contained money.

As honest as he is as a real Christian, Kwesi Ackon did not appropriate it rather he drove to Teshie to return the money to the woman whom he knew and was convinced was the owner of the cash.

Subsequent to this viral video, Kwesi Ackon the taxi driver has received praise and commendation. He has also received blessings because it is difficult to comprehend how a rickety taxi driver could be so honest considering the current rising economic situation in the country.

As if that is enough, the Vice President of the Republic, Dr. Bawumia has dolled out an amount of GHC 20, 000 as a reward to the taxi driver for his rare honesty and integrity. 

Undisclosed amounts have also been directed at Kwesi Ackom for the same reason.

We are by this piece not trying to stain or taint the beautiful exemplary religious story of Kwesi Ackon. Neither is this write-up seeking to discredit or look down on honesty and integrity which are held in high esteem in the Ghanaian Religious society.

However, we wish to do a purely academic and critical assessment of the story through the lens of the country’s criminal statutes.

According to Section 127 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), one of the various ways by which the offense of stealing can occur is by finding. It states;

A person who appropriates a thing that appears to have been lost by another person is not guilty of stealing it, unless— 

(a) at the time of appropriating it, he knows who is the owner of the thing or by whom it has been lost; or

 (b) the character or situation of the thing, the marks upon it, or any other circumstances is or are such as to indicate the owner of the thing or the person by whom has been lost; or 

(c) the character or situation of the thing, the marks upon it, or any other circumstances is or are such as that the person who has lost the thing appears likely to be able to recover it by reasonable search and enquiry, if it were not removed or concealed by any other person.

The fact that the market woman was the last passenger who was picked by Kwesi Ackom on that fateful day is not in contention per the facts outlined supra.

Further, it is a fact that the moment Kwesi Ackom saw the dirty rag full of money while searching his car, the market woman was the only person whom she readily had in his contemplation.

Kwesi Ackon indicates per an interview granted with an online media portal noted that the dirty rag smelled of fish.

It is therefore settled that per the events and scenarios outlined, Kwesi Ackon knew that the money found in his car, belonged to the Malata market woman.

On her part, even though she was grieving over the loss of her money, one cannot doubt that the market woman could readily recollect that she left her money tied in a rag in the rickety taxi of Kwesi Ackon.

In the case of Kramo Wala v Republic where the accused person was convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labor on the accusation of being in possession of an accordion which was a missing property of one Abdulai Adam whose room was allegedly broken into, the appellate court held in allowing the appeal that, a man who found goods that have actually been lost or were reasonably suspected by him to have been lost, and he appropriates them believing that at the time he found it, the owner could not be found, that was not stealing but if he took them with a felonious intent and reasonably believed that the owner could have been found, he committed the offense of stealing.

Kwesi Ackon should be lauded, praised, and honored for his integrity and honesty. That notwithstanding, he could have been liable for the offense of stealing if he had acted otherwise.