Accra, July 15, GNA – The Adenta Circuit Court has sentenced a 25-year-old mason to five years’ imprisonment for stealing a four-year-old child from Kpedze in the Volta Region to Accra.
David Kpandoyo, a Togolese national, pleaded guilty to child stealing and was convicted on his own plea.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Patience Mario, assisted by Chief Inspector Jacob Nyarko, told the court that Kpandoyo unlawfully took the child from Kpedze to Accra without the knowledge or consent of the child’s parents.
The court, presided over by Mrs Angela Attachie, convicted Kpandoyo on July 13, 2026, and deferred sentencing to July 14, 2026.
The prosecution said Kpandoyo travelled to Kpedze in June 2026 to undertake masonry work and, after completing the assignment on July 1, began his journey back to Accra.
According to the prosecution, Kpandoyo met the child in Kpedze Township, bought him toffees and carried him onto a commercial motorbike after telling the rider that the child was his son.
He subsequently took the child to his residence at New Legon, Accra, where he kept him without the knowledge or consent of the child’s parents.
The child’s disappearance triggered a search by relatives and members of the Kpedze community, with announcements made through social media, radio stations and police stations.
After spending three days in Kpandoyo’s room, the child reportedly left the house unnoticed and wandered around New Legon.
A resident, later identified as the complainant, Mr Bismark Gbadogo, found the child, who could not identify his home or parents, and escorted him to the Adenta Housing Down Police Station Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU).
The prosecution said Kpandoyo later appeared at the police station claiming the child was his biological son and requested that he be released to him.
Police, however, asked him to produce the child’s biological mother, birth certificate and other documents to establish his parentage.
Subsequently, police received a missing-child flyer bearing the names and contact details of persons searching for the victim.
On July 6, 2026, the child’s biological mother, Ms Patience Ablordefey Afeafa, reported to the police station with the child’s birth certificate.
Following verification, police confirmed that she was the child’s mother.
Kpandoyo was arrested after honouring a police invitation.
During investigations, he admitted that he was not the child’s biological father and had taken the child from Kpedze to Accra without the knowledge or consent of the child’s parents.
Although he offered no explanation to investigators, he later told the court that he had acted under the influence of alcohol.
The prosecution said: “the accused failed to provide any lawful explanation for his actions or reason for taking the child.”
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Joyce Danso