Samatex Employee Jailed 5 Years for Cable Theft and Damage

The Tarkwa Circuit Court has sentenced Samuel Agyiri, a 28-year-old pump mechanic at Samatex Timber and Plywood Company Limited, to five years imprisonment with hard labour for stealing and damaging electrical cables valued at GH¢137,046, the property of his employer.

Agyiri pleaded guilty to causing unlawful damage and theft.

Presenting the case before the court, Detective Chief Inspector Adams Mumuni explained that the complainant, Aziz Yakubu, a security officer at the company, resides at Samreboi No. 2 quarters, while Agyiri lives near the Samreboi Gyantima road, both within the Wassa Amenfi West Municipality.

According to the prosecution, on March 11, 2025, around 9:00 AM, the manager in charge of the company’s powerhouse, Peter Adakabilla, noticed Agyiri loitering near an area known as “bars,” where electrical cables are installed. Upon questioning, Agyiri claimed he was doing nothing and was redirected to work at the hogging yard.

Later that day, at about 2:30 PM, the manager again found Agyiri wandering near the powerhouse and ordered him to leave for the day. However, by 3:15 PM, Adakabilla saw Agyiri pushing a wheelbarrow near the factory fence by the moulding mill and, suspecting theft, asked him to stop.

Realizing he might be caught, Agyiri abandoned the wheelbarrow, picked up an item wrapped in a polythene bag, and fled. The manager quickly alerted the security officer, who pursued Agyiri on a motorbike and successfully apprehended him.

Agyiri confessed to stealing the cables and led the complainant to a nearby bush where they were hidden. He was then handed over to the Samreboi Police and admitted the offence in his caution statement, citing financial hardship as his motive.

The presiding judge, Mrs Hathia Ama Manu, ordered that the recovered cables be returned to the company.