A landlord has been granted a GH¢20,000 bail by an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly stealing GH¢7,067.87 worth of power, belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). 

The Court presided over by Mr Bright Samuel Acquah and ordered that Eric Afriyie, the accused, should get a surety to execute the bail. 

He has since denied the theft, causing unlawful damage to ECG’s meter and intentionally allowing interference with the supplier’s distribution system by-pass ECG meter without authority. 

The Court asked Afriyie to return on April 11, 2025. 

The prosecution told the Court that Madam Regina Ayim, the Complainant is a trader residing at Alhaji Tabora.  

Afriyie, 53, a self-employed, is the landlord to the complainant and on March 03, 2025, the complainant reported that her landlord had been collecting money from them (she and her co-tenants) to buy power but ended up using the money.  

The Court heard that based on the behaviour of the landlord, ECG officers visited the house for meter inspection.  

However, they detected that the meter was tempered with thus all the tenants in this house highly suspected the landlord as the one behind the said illegality.  

The Prosecution told the Court that ECG officers realized that he had done a by-pass on the meter.  

The occupants, the Court heard, were disconnected and served with ECG summoned to report for the issue to be addressed.  

The prosecution said when the ECG officers disconnected the tenants, they went to their office and the issue was addressed.  

The tenants were later reconnected, but the landlord refused to honour the invitation and that, he was not connected to the power.  

He went and brought someone, and the person illegally connected him, and he was using power without paying, the Court heard.  

Police said on March 19, 2025, he was arrested and he admitted the offence in his cautioned statement, he pleaded that, he was sorry to have challenged the authority of the ECG.  

He was then charged with the offences after investigations and put before court.