A photo of the late Akollobilla
An elderly man identified as Akollobilla was sentenced to 10 years in Kumasi Central Prison in 2012 for possessing and distributing cannabis.
Akolobilla, who was 92 years old at the time, had lost his job as a cocoa farm manager due to old age.
In an interview with Crime Check TV and monitored by GhanaWeb on Sunday, March 1, 2026, he recounted, “I used to work on someone’s cocoa farm, but I was relieved of my duties because of my age. Around the same time, someone offered me Indian hemp to sell for my daily bread. But luck eluded me, and I was arrested while the person who gave me the drugs ran away, leaving me alone.”
Meet the journalist who got many petty offenders, 6 pregnant women out of prison
He also described the heartache of being unable to tell his family:
When I left the cocoa farm, I told my wife and children to return home to Bolgatanga so they would not know I was in prison for a drug-related offence. I had never used a mobile phone all my life and could not get anyone to communicate with them,” he stated.
According to him, life in prison was gruelling.
“I cannot breathe properly, and the stage I have gotten to, the state should help me. It is difficult for me,” he said, explaining how he relied on fellow inmates to move around due to asthma and limited mobility.
Meet the journalist who got many petty offenders, 6 pregnant women out of prison
After intervention from the Crime Check Foundation, he was granted a presidential pardon in 2018.
He later passed away in July 2020.
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Source:
www.ghanaweb.com
