Fake Soldier Caged

A Tamale Circuit Court presided over by Senyo Amadehe has sentenced a self-styled military man to a total of 15 months� imprisonment in hard labour. �Lance Corporal� Fusheini Munkaila of the 6th Infantry Battalion was arraigned before the court on three counts of unlawfully possessing police accoutrement and falsely pretending to be a public officer. He was fined GH�400 on the first count and GH�200 for the second count or in default would serve three months in prison. He was however sentenced to a year�s imprisonment on the third count and was immediately whisked away by police personnel to begin his incarceration. It would be recalled that the suspect was arrested by the police after he allegedly assaulted someone at a drinking spot near the police barracks. �Lance Corporal� Munkaila, a 22-year-old scrap dealer, at the time of his arrest, was dressed in a military camouflage uniform with police boots to match. He claimed he picked the outfit from a refuse dump at the military barracks during a search for scraps. Contrary to his claim, police revealed that the suspect usually wore the military uniform at night and intimidated drinking bar operators in order to get free drinks. On the day of his arrest, according to eyewitnesses, he stormed a drinking spot near the police barracks, while in military uniform, to intimidate the drinking spot attendant and an argument ensued. He was alleged to have assaulted the bar attendant, who rushed to the police and lodged a complaint, which led to his arrest. His unkempt beard gave him away as Ghana soldiers are noted for regularly shaving their beards or keeping just a moustache. During interrogation, Munkaila admitted the offence and confessed that he was not a military officer but only fell in love with the outfit after picking them from the refuse dump. He was placed behind bars and later sent to court, where he was charged with illegally possessing military accoutrements and deceit of the public by posing as a military officer.