Farmer Convicted For Stealing Lion�s Cow

Daniel Amo Wodome, a farmer, has been convicted by an Accra Circuit Court for killing a cow in labour belonging to the brother of Greater Accra Regional Minister Nii Afotey Agbo, popularly known as �Lion�, by shooting it in the eye and later slashing it to death as it struggled to give birth. The farmer also forcibly pulled out the calf from its mother�s womb when some parts of its body were already out during birth and quickly buried it along with the intestines of its mother before anybody could detect his act. The accused pleaded guilty to stealing and possession of firearms without lawful authority in a court presided over by Francis Obiri and was convicted on his own plea. His sentence has been deferred to September 3, 2012, while he has been remanded into police custody. Presenting the facts of the case, the prosecutor, Chief Inspector J.K. Anim, told the court that Wodome was a farmer while the complainant was Nii Afotey Agbo, a cattle farmer. According to him, on August 16, 2012, the herdsmen of the complainant took his cattle to the bush to graze and in the evening, he detected that one of the cows was in labour. He said the herdsman, as a result, made a shelter for the cow in labour to enable it to give birth, away from the cattle and he afterwards retired to bed. The police officer noted that the following morning, the herdsman went to check on the animal only to realize that the cow and its baby were nowhere to be found, adding that the calf and the intestines of its mother were later found buried in the farm of the accused person. The accused person was later arrested after the matter was reported to the police. Wodome told police that he was on a hunting expedition that day around 3 am and shot the animal in the eye after he mistook it for a bush cow and said he killed the calf after killing its mother. He stated that he afterwards cut the animal into pieces and sold its meat the next day. The chief inspector said when asked if the gun he used in killing the animal was licensed, the accused person said he inherited it from his grandfather 10 years ago but had no document to show for it. He said the farmer was arraigned after police concluded investigations.