Retired fire officer gets GH¢350k bail over alleged recruitment scam

A retired officer of the Ghana National Fire Service has been granted bail by an Accra Circuit Court over an alleged recruitment scam involving 60 applicants.

Thomas Dorkenu, 60, is accused of collecting GH¢303,200 from the applicants on the pretext of securing their enlistment into the Ghana National Fire Service through protocol allocation.

He has pleaded not guilty to a charge of defrauding by false pretences.

The court granted him bail in the sum of GH¢350,000 with two sureties.

The case has been adjourned to September 24, 2026.

The prosecution, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Emmanuel Nyamekye, opposed the bail application.

DSP Nyamekye asked the court for two more weeks to complete investigations, saying the case was at an advanced stage.

He argued that Dorkenu, having served in the Fire Service for many years, knew that 60 protocol slots could not be allocated to one person.

The prosecution also described him as a flight risk, claiming he was now staying in the Volta Region, where the money was allegedly collected.

Defence counsel rejected that claim and urged the court to grant bail.

Counsel said Dorkenu had been in police custody since his arrest on July 28, 2026, and was first put before the court on August 3, when he was remanded.

The defence described the prosecution’s facts as “fanciful and full of allegations.”

Counsel also disputed the claim about his residence, insisting that Dorkenu lives at Ashongman Estates and not in the Volta Region.

“It is not true that the accused person resides in the Volta Region. He lives at Ashongman Estates. He just retired from the Ghana National Fire Service, and he would not like to jeopardise his pension after serving Ghana well over the years,” counsel argued.

According to the prosecution, the complainant in the case is the Chief Fire Officer of the GNFS.

The prosecution said one of the alleged victims, Eyram Davordzi-Banini, a midwife resident in Akatsi, was approached by Dorkenu on February 9, 2026.

Dorkenu allegedly told her that he had secured enlistment slots from the Chief Fire Officer and asked her to mobilise prospective applicants for recruitment into the Service.

The prosecution said Eyram subsequently mobilised 60 applicants and paid GH¢303,200 to Dorkenu on their behalf.

The money was allegedly presented as the approved fee for protocol charges fixed by the complainant.

Dorkenu is alleged to have later issued appointment letters to the applicants, directing them to report for training on July 23, 2026.

However, when the applicants reported to the GNFS Training School, they were told that the appointment letters were fake.

They then went to the office of the Chief Fire Officer to complain, where it emerged that they had allegedly been defrauded.

The prosecution said Dorkenu was arrested by the complainant and handed over to police together with a Tecno Spark C30 smartphone believed to have been used in the alleged offence.

It said Dorkenu admitted the offence in his caution statement, taken in the presence of an independent witness, but claimed that he was also a victim of a scam allegedly involving a Telecel number.

The phone has been sent for digital forensic examination, while police pursue the user of the Telecel number.