An Appeal Court Judge in Ghana and three accomplices have allegedly defrauded Senegalese businesswoman Sokhna Ka-Bire. The amount involved is closed to $200,000 she wired to Justice Charles Edward Ekow Baiden.
“Everything started in 2019 when Ghanian President Nana Akufo Addo made an official visit to France. President Addo called on the African Diaspora to be a significant player in the renaissance of the continent,” she told JollofNews in an exclusive interview.
A Paris-based businesswoman specialized in African craft and traditional fabric, Sokhna Ka-Bire has partnered with Fatimata Niang to set up Kaolack Creations (KC) which is a brand that is constantly increasing its perceived value. Grounded in the Pan-African principles, she sees the continent as one entity and Ghana as the right place for KC to fly to higher heights.
As echoed by the Police report, Sokhna Ka-Bire “visited Ghana periodically to find investment opportunity. She needed accomodation to finally settle in Ghana.”
The Police report (dated July 23rd, 2021) further indicated that “in the search of the accomodation, she saw an Estate company called Habitat Real Estate offering apartments for sale. She got in touch with one Ahmed Meyaki who claimed to be the Managing Director of the company.”
A Labyrinth Of Deceit
At this juncture, everything is going to be accelerated as Sokhna Ka-Bire expressed interest in one of the apartment.
“Suspect Ahmed Meyaki introduced the complainant to one Abdul Gafuru as a lawyer,” the Police added while indicating that the said lawyer gave assurance to the complainant that it was safe to purchase the apartment.
Not knowing that she was being lured into a labyrinth of deceit and corruption, Sokhna Ka-Bire remained about her interest in the apartment.
The Police went on to say that suspect Ahmed Meyaki introduced Sokhna to Jari Garrdziella who claimed to be a Finnish national working with the real estate company.
“In the month of April 2021, the complainant made a total payment of $190,000 into Standar Chartered bank account number 9400091557 with account name Charles Edward Ekow Baiden,” the Police revealed.
Once they pocketed the money, Sokhna Ka-Bire started going through a nightmare.
According to her, she was in Ghana for the handing over of the apartment keys by Charles Edward Ekow Baiden who made a surprising U-turn.
“As suspect Charles Edward Ekow Baiden refused to sign the document to hand over the apartment to the complainant, she confronted Charles Edward Ekow Baiden and he told her that, the property would cost $250,000.
Sokhna Ka-Bire made it clear that it was too expensive for an apartment and immediately requested the refund of the $190,000 that was deposited to his account.
As the Police said the case was still under investigation, the desperate Senegalese decided to write to the Ghanian President and the Chief to explain her plight.
However, Justice Baiden took it otherwise and filed a defamation lawsuit against Sokhna Ka-Bire while claiming $190,000 for damages.
The commercial court will hand over a verdict on November 10, 2023 as the Supreme Court ordered a re-trial of a case that continues to attract headlines…
