An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced 24-year-old Mawuena Tamakloe to 12 months in prison for stealing a 50-inch television from the Church of Pentecost (COP) Whistler Barracks Worship Centre, located within the Teshie Military Academy in Accra.
Mawuena, who is unemployed and resides in Tema Community 2, pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful entry and theft.
She was convicted and handed 12-month jail terms for each offence, to run concurrently.
The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Clemence Takyi, told the court that a pregnancy test ordered by the judge returned negative. The presiding judge, Mrs. Susan Edufful, advised Mawuena to use her time in prison to reform.
According to the prosecution, after the pregnancy test was conducted, Mawuena attempted to escape while being escorted back to the police station.
She crossed a main road near the police and fled by boarding a commercial vehicle, then switched to a taxi. A motorbike rider who witnessed the scene assisted the authorities by chasing and helping apprehend her.
The court heard that on May 15, 2025, at around 8:30 a.m., Mawuena was seen by military personnel carrying a 50-inch Hisense UHD 4K flat-screen TV, with the church’s name inscribed on the box, away from the church’s premises within the military barracks. Her explanation raised suspicion, and she was promptly handed over to the Military Police.
During interrogation, Mawuena confessed to stealing the TV from an office within the church auditorium. She was subsequently transferred to the police along with the recovered television.
The complainant, Elder Ebenezer Oppong Aboagye of COP Whistler Barracks Worship Centre, accompanied police officers and the accused to the church, where they found that the inner wooden door to the head pastor’s office had been broken. Mawuena later admitted the crime in her caution statement.
Chief Inspector Takyi also requested that a charge of unlawful damage—initially brought against Mawuena—be withdrawn, noting that she had provided some explanation earlier, prompting the court to enter a not guilty plea on that charge.
In her sentencing remarks, Judge Edufful considered Mawuena’s age, her status as a first-time offender, her plea for leniency, and the value of the stolen item before delivering the final judgment.
