Korkuvi Atiga, a farmer, was given GH¢10,000 bail by the Hohoe Magistrate’s Court with one surety for, among other things, letting his domestic animals run onto neighboring fields and destroy their crops.
Atiga will reappear on March 14, 2024, having entered a not guilty plea to the case.
Frank Azila-Gbettor, the prosecutor, informed the John Evans Ocran-presiding court that the accused was a resident of Fodome Lormnava, a farming hamlet located in the Fodome Traditional Area of the Volta Region.
According to the prosecutor, he was raising domestic animals in the neighborhood, such as sheep and goats.
The local Environmental Health Officer was notified by the community in October 2021 of several allegations stating that Atiga had let his animals run loose and destroyed neighboring farms’ crops.
According to him, an Environmental Health and Sanitation Unit officer came to the neighborhood to instruct the accused to build a pen for his animals and abstain from letting them run loose.
The officer also observed that Atiga did not provide proper care for the animals, which caused them to make unpleasant noises during the night when mating, disrupting the community’s sleep.
The offender was advised to fix his broken pen so that the animals could be kept safely, but he disregarded the advice.
The members of the Unit Committee were subsequently given instructions by the Municipal Environmental Health Unit to seize any stray animals in the neighborhood, but they encountered opposition from the person who was accused.
On August 14, 2022, the unit committee members succeeded in apprehending five wandering sheep that belonged to the accused; however, the matter was settled after he pledged not to commit the same offense again.
Despite this, the annoyance persisted until October 17, 2022, when three of his wandering sheep were apprehended and brought to the office. During this time, Atiga requested forgiveness once more and was granted it.
Three wandering sheep were apprehended by a community member on December 26, 2023, and were placed at the Fodome Helu police station before being transported to the Hohoe Environmental Health Unit.
The prosecution claimed that after the accused ordered his wife to get the animals five days later, the officer requested that Atiga come to the office so that he could speak with the farmer and determine the cost of the damage to his crops.
Atiga was sent to court because he neglected to show up for work and was letting his animals run amok without listening to advise.
